7 Nights
by DelenaRain
Summary: 7 nights. Alone. In a motel. In the middle of nowhere. With Damon Salvatore. How will Elena ever survive this? Night One: Teaching Damon about personal space and boundaries...while they're forced to share a bed. DELENA STORY
1. NIGHT ONE: Personal Space

**So I was reading my other stories when I came up with this idea ;) I was thinking about Damon and Elena spending a night in a motel room together, and I guess this sort of just…popped out. LOL.**

**If you guys do want me to continue on, leave a review and I will ;)**

**~DelenaRain**

* * *

**NIGHT ONE**

"It's not funny, Damon!" Elena growled, as they walked up to the front desk. He grinned at her, and she sighed in irritation.

"It kind of is." He flashed her his trademark smirk, and Elena glared at him. The man behind the front desk raised his eyebrows at them, and Damon turned.

"We need a room." Damon told him. "One night."

The man let out a dry, throaty laugh. "One night? You're kidding, right?"

Damon and Elena frowned at each other, wondering what he meant.

"What?" Elena asked in confusion. One night, that's all they'd be staying…right? This rainstorm surely couldn't last much longer…could it? She glanced out the window. The rain was coming down in buckets now, and she winced. Hopefully it would clear up by morning. It had to.

The man sighed. "This weather's meant to last for the next week. 7 days, I heard. Or that's what the weatherman said…before the power went out."

He gestured to the black TV screen behind him, and Elena groaned. The weather was so bad the power had shut off? Perfect, just perfect.

"A couple of the rooms have power left. I'll try and find you one that does." The man began to sort through some papers on the desk, and Elena looked at Damon.

"We can still drive in this." She whispered to Damon. "We'll leave tomorrow morning, okay?"

Damon frowned, shaking his head. "Uh, no. I'm not taking my precious baby out in this." He gestured out the window to his blue Camaro, which they'd parked under some trees to help it stay dry.

"Damon!" Elena hissed.

He smirked. "What's wrong, Elena? Afraid of spending a week alone with me?" He grinned knowingly, and Elena glared at him.

"I found one." The man interrupted. "The last one left, actually. We've been very busy tonight – there's no hotels or other motels around for miles."

"Great." Elena muttered, knowing how shabby this one probably would be. So she'd be spending a week alone with Damon Salvatore, in the middle of nowhere? Her cell phone wasn't working – no reception – meaning she couldn't contact Stefan, Bonnie, Caroline, and ask them to come get her…

The TV signal was out – nothing to do. Damon refused to drive his car – nowhere to go. And the rain was still pouring relentlessly down from the sky. The man was right. They were probably looking at around a week of this. A week before they could leave.

* * *

Damon swung the door open, and Elena immediately stepped inside, sighing in relief as she got away from the rain. Their room was on the very edge of the motel grounds – they'd had to walk for 5 minutes in the pouring rain just to get to their small, secluded building.

Damon reached for the light switch, flipping it on, and blinding light flooded the room. Elena sighed happily – there was power in this room.

The room was small, painted a beige colour, and barely furnished. There was a small chair in the corner, a table, dresser, and a tiny kitchenette. The little TV was propped up on the dresser, and Elena could see there was a bathroom on the side of the room. The floors were carpeted, and there was a bed.

Hold on. _A _bed? As in _one _bed?

No. No no no no no no no no no no… Elena desperately looked around the room, her eyes searching for another bed. But there was nothing but the lack of furniture and the bathroom.

"Damon!" She screeched.

He jumped at the unexpected noise, then recovered quickly. "Yes, Elena?" He said casually, walking over to the chair and putting their bags down.

"There's only one bed!" Elena cried, gesturing wildly to the bed. "What are we going to do?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Really? You're scared of sharing a bed with me, Elena?" He walked up to her, and she flinched at their close proximity. His nose was almost touching hers now. "I'd offer to sleep on the sofa…but there isn't one." He grinned.

Elena groaned. This couldn't be possible.

"I'm taking a shower." She said grumpily, gesturing to her soaking wet clothes. She walked into the bathroom, locking the door firmly behind her. Damon better not try anything, she thought. Her bladder was close to bursting – she'd sat in a car for 10 hours – and she quickly used the washroom before stripping off her wet clothes and stepping into the shower.

Elena sighed in relief as the first stream of hot water poured down her back, and she washed her hair out with the shampoo provided by the motel. She scrubbed the soap all over her greasy body, trying to get the smell of _Damon _off of her. After sitting in his car for 10 hours, she smelled just like him: spice, the woods, and this other very sexy smell…

Wait, what? Elena scolded herself mentally. _Stefan _was her boyfriend, not Damon.

"Are you done yet?" A voice complained, and Elena nearly jumped out of her skin. The voice was close, right behind the curtain….

Oh god, was Damon in the bathroom with her?

Elena shrieked. "DAMON! Get out!"

She could almost see him roll his eyes and flash a smirk. "I'm just wondering when you'll be done." He said casually. "I want to shower too, you know."

Elena thanked her lucky stars there was a shower curtain, and glared at Damon through it, despite the fact he couldn't see. "Just get out!"

"Fine, fine." She heard him disappear from the bathroom, and breathed a sigh of relief. Still – she should've known locked doors wouldn't stop him.

Five minutes later, Elena wrapped the towel around herself as she examined her wet clothes. Thankfully, her bra and panties were still dry, and she slipped them on quickly before rewrapping the towel around her.

Crap. Her bag was still in the room, on the dresser.

"D-Damon?" She called, praying he would do this for her. "Can you pass me my bag?"

No answer. She groaned, unlocking the door and peering around the corner of it. He was lying on the bed, arms crossed behind his head, smirking at her.

"Nah. I don't really feel like going out into the rain." He said casually, shrugging his shoulders. Elena frowned.

"What do you mean, into the rain? My bag's right there." She pointed to the dresser…and her heart nearly stopped. She'd thought Damon had two bags! And he did…only they were both black, and both his.

"Where's my bag?" She cried angrily. He grinned.

"Oh. I didn't bring it in from the car."

Elena shot him a look of daggers. Perfect, just perfect. Now she had no clothes on except for her bra and panties, and a towel. No way in hell was she sleeping next to Damon Salvatore in a towel.

"Please get my bag, Damon." Elena said, trying to sound as friendly as possible. He smirked at her.

"Nope." He said, popping the 'P.'

"DAMON!"

"Nope."

"Please!"

"No."

Elena groaned, burying her face in her hands. He was such an asshole sometimes. Did he ever think about anyone but himself?

"Please." She tried one more time, praying he'd listen. He shook his head once again, flashing her a 200 watt smile.

"I don't feel like going out in the rain to the car. But you can borrow this." He walked over to his bag and pulled out a black shirt, throwing it at her. Elena caught it before it hit the ground and examined it. It was better then sleeping in a shirt.

She locked the bathroom door again and dropped the towel, pulling Damon's black shirt on. It came down to her mid thighs – not nearly low enough, but it would have to do. She grimaced, knowing what was next.

Slowly, Elena unlocked the door and tiptoed out, heading for the bed quickly. Damon's eyes were wide, and his gaze lingered on her long, lean legs for a moment before going back to her face. She dove under the covers, and he grinned.

"Suits you well." He said, referring to the shirt. She rolled her eyes, pulling the blankets up over her chest. Damon got up, heading for the bathroom, and she lay her head on the pillow, trying to relax.

* * *

He emerged from the bathroom 10 minutes later, clad in only a pair of black pyjama pants that slung low on his hips. Elena desperately tried to keep her eyes off his bare chest and quickly rolled over to stop herself from staring.

Damon climbed into the bed next to her, the weight on the mattress shifting. She watched as he lay his head on the pillow, and he pulled the blankets up slowly.

"Now, listen up." Elena instructed. "You stay on that side of the bed, got it? I swear to god Damon, if you move, there'll be hell to pay…"

He chuckled, swatting at her playfully. She rolled away, scooting over to the very edge of the bed. He was still too close, or at least it felt like it. She was beginning to not trust herself…

Damon scooted over too, and she gasped. "Damon! Go away!"

He chuckled. "Just keeping you warm kitten."

She groaned, pushing him back to his side of the bed. "Okay, look. I know you don't usually get rules to abide by, but listen to me. You have to stay on your side of the bed, alright?"

He pouted, and she rolled her eyes. Damon's warm arm encircled her waist, and she gasped.

"Damon! What did I just say? Okay, seriously! I need some personal space!" She pushed his arm off, and he chuckled again.

"No need to be so rude." He said quietly.

"Clearly." She snorted.

Damon sighed, and Elena jumped up when she felt his breath tickle her neck.

"DAMON! Just get this into your freaking mind! I don't want to sleep beside you, and this is already bad enough! Just stay on your side of the bed!"

She began to push him, trying to use her pathetic human strength to push him to the side of the bed. He began to laugh, and Elena punched his chest, even though it would do no damage.

"There happens to be something you can't cross, Damon! They're called personal boundaries! Clearly, you need to make some for yourself!"

"Ouch." Damon said snarkily.

"Look. I am a person. A person who wants space. I am not…with you…and I just want to sleep by myself. But I can't. So at least give me some space, okay? Normal people do not usually cuddle with their boyfriend's brother!"

She swatted at him, and he raised his eyebrows playfully.

"Okay, okay!" He smirked, and she fell away from him, shooting him a glare before settling down on her side.

Damon shut off the light, and they both fell silent as the room plunged into darkness. Elena's stomach lurched. It was completely black, all around her. There were no lights on outside, due to most of the rooms not having power, and it was almost…scary. And there was no way she was asking Damon if they could keep the light on all night…he'd never let her live it down.

She glanced over at him. Where was he? It was so dark, she couldn't even make out his face anymore.

In fact, she couldn't make out anything. Not the bedside table, not the bottom of the bed, and definitely not Damon.

"D-Damon?" She said quietly, feeling the need to hear someone's voice. There was no answer, and Elena sucked in a sharp breath. She twisted around in the comforters. She needed to find the light – but how could she in this light?

"Yes, Elena?" His voice was like smooth velvet, soothing and comforting. She sighed in relief.

"Nothing." She answered quickly, not wanting him to know she needed his voice.

The room fell into silence again, and Elena shivered. God, she'd never liked the dark, and this didn't exactly help…

The rain was still pouring heavily outside, but hearing that, despite the fact it was a noise, was not helping at all. It just reminded her of water, and she wasn't so fond of that anymore…

Images of the bottom of the lake filled her head. Her father's pale face…feeling the air being sucked from her lungs as the car filled with water…no one there…

A clap of thunder echoed outside and Elena squeaked, sitting up in bed. She didn't care about her pride anymore, she needed him. She needed Damon.

Elena threw herself across the bed, feeling her body collide with a wall of muscle. Damon.

"Something you need?" Damon asked, and she could hear the smirk in his voice.

"I-I just…I-I…I need…" Another clap of thunder roared in the sky and Elena flinched. She curled into Damon, feeling his warm breath tickle her neck.

"It's okay." He whispered soothingly, seeming to understand she didn't want to talk about it. "I'm right here." He tucked an arm around her waist, pulling her against him, and she lay her head on his chest. She felt safe.

He was so warm, and inviting. Damon stroked her hair softly, soothing her instantly.

"It's alright, I'm not leaving." He whispered, then smiled into her hair. "Where would I go?"

Elena let the ghost of a smile skim her lips, before letting out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and closing her eyes again.

"You sure understand personal boundaries." Damon muttered, before closing his eyes as well.

**Review if you want to see Night 2! Okay, so that was chapter one ;P**

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**~DelenaRain**


	2. NIGHT TWO: Prank Time

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**~DelenaRain**

* * *

**NIGHT TWO**

It had been an extremely boring day - well, as boring as it gets with Damon Salvatore. Because of the weather, Damon and Elena had literally done nothing. They'd sat inside all day, begging for the TV to come back on, and it hadn't. To make everything worse, the power in their room had gone out. The man had said yesterday their room was one that had power, and it did. Or it did have. After a day of sitting inside and watching the window to see which raindrop would 'win' and reach the bottom first, the two were now lying in bed, and it was pitch black.

Last night had already been embaressing enough. Damon hadn't let Elena live it down for the whole day, and he probably never would. He'd teased her me endlessly about how she 'needed him' and had used him as her 'teddybear'. And to be honest, Elena wished she could do it again tonight. She shivered in the dark and rolled over.

Maybe they could check to see if the power was back on. "Damon?" She whispered. "Let's turn the light on and see if the power works."

No answer.

Elena's heart began to pound rapidly in her chest. This was an exacty repeat as last night. He was there, right? She sat up in the bed.

"Damon!" She hissed.

Silence.

"Damon, it's not funny!"

All she could hear was the pouring rain outside, and all she could see was...well, nothing. Maybe her hands. Where could he have gone? She would've heard him opening the door or going to the bathroom.

"Damon, seriously!" She felt around for him on the other side of the bed, and froze. The sheets were cold, like he'd never been there. There was no one there.

Elena desperately searched the bed for him, her hands coming up empty. Her fingers curled around empty sheets. He was gone.

"Damon!"

More silence. She swallowed the lump in her throat. She couldn't see a thing, just like last night. One of the many disadvantages of staying out so far in the middle of no where. No power due to the storm, no lights around from cities. Much like Hawaii. Wait...why was she thinking about Hawaii now?

"Damon please!" She pleaded, aboving caring if he heard the fear in her voice and teased her about it. This was seriously not funny.

"Damon?" She whimpered. What if he was actually gone? What if something had happened to him?

Oh god, she needed to find the light. Maybe the power had gone back on! She stumbled out of bed, falling to the ground and quickly getting up again. Where was the damn chair? The light was right beside it!

Her toe hit something and she hissed. "Ow!" Wait, that was the chair! That meant the light was...

Her fingers found the switch triumphantly and she flicked it. Elena groaned. Still no power then. Everything was quiet except for the pounding rain. No Damon. Her heart was sprinting 100 miles an hour now, and she was starting to shake. She needed to find her phone and call him.

Her phone was on the dresser, and her fingers wrapped around it, bringing it to her ear as she punched in Damon's number. The phone rang once, twice, three times...no answer.

Where in the hell was he?

She shivered. The phone went straight to his voicemail. This wasn't like Damon. Slowly, Elena made her way towards the door - or what she thought was the door in this light - and finding the handle, turned it. The door clicked open and she looked outside. Rain was pouring over the overhang of the roof and covering the cement ground in puddles. There was no moonlight, and so it was dark everywhere.

Elena wasn't sure how she would make it through the night without Damon. She needed to go sit in the lobby or something. Maybe there was power again there.

Stepping outside, Elena pulled her boyfriend cardigan tighter around her shoulders as she walked into the rain.

She screamed.

Loud.

There was a tiny shape on the ground, twisted into a disgusting position. Was that a...? No. No no no no no no no no...

It was a crow. A dead crow, lying on the cement outside.

Damon was able to turn into a crow.

Oh god no.

Elena let out a scream, and strong arms encircled her waist. A hand clapped over her mouth, muffling her desperate cries. She struggled but could not get out.

"Calm down." A voice laughed in her ear.

Elena shrieked.

"YOU JACKASS!" She screamed at Damon. He doubled over in laughter, holding his stomach. Elena punched him in the shoulder and strode back inside the motel room. He followed her in after, still laughing. Damon collapsed onto the bed, roaring in laughter.

Elena's face was bright red. She couldn't believe him.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

Damon howled in laughter, clutching his stomach as he rolled around on the bedsheets. She crossed her arms over her chest, fuming. How could he trick her like that? He'd probably been standing outside the entire time, listening to her heart pounding hard as she tried to call him.

"It was pretty f-funny!" Damon choked out as he laughed. "Y-you should have seen y-your face!" He doubled over again and Elena kicked his shin angrily.

"You're a complete asshole Damon." Elena shouted, plopping down into the chair and hiding her face in her hands. He'd scared her so much with that stupid dead crow...she'd honestly thought he was hurt. Or worse.

How could she have been so _stupid?_

"Something wrong?" Damon mocked, his lips twisting into a smirk. "Were you _worried _about _me _Elena?"

"NO!"

Damon laughed, easily seeing through her enraged expression. She blushed and looked away. She'd been worried to death about him, of course she had. Not that she would ever admit it, at least not to his face.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Eww. Now I have crow blood on me. I'm going to take a shower." He grinned at her.

Elena gagged. "That's disgusting, Damon! I can't believe you killed a poor, innocent creature just to scare me!"

He grinned again and disappeared inside the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Elena sighed and lay back on the bed. She couldn't believe Damon had scared her like that. He could be such a jerk sometimes. Wait a minute...

An idea began to form in Elena's head and she smirked. Oh, she would get her revenge...

First, she took Damon's suitcase. She'd be needing that. Grabbing Damon's car keys off the dresser, she silently opened the door and slipped out. He wasn't expecting this, so he wouldn't be using his vampire hearing to listen in on her, and if he was using human hearing, he certainly wouldn't be able to hear the door opening and closing over the shower.

Elena jogged across the motel grounds, the rain soaking her clothes through instantly. At this point, she really didn't care. As long as it meant getting back at Damon. Trying not to slip in the mud, she carefully avoided as many puddles as possible as she raced along the perimeter of the motel.

She would put the suitcase in his car, drive the car a bit up the road, and when he came out of the shower, he'd think he had left the case in the car. So he would go out looking for his car, in the place they'd parked it, and well...it wouldn't be there. She grinned.

Five minutes later, she reached the lobby, and smirked. There. Damon's car was parked just outside, under the trees. She used the keys to unlock it and quickly slipped into the driver's seat, jamming the keys in the ignition and starting the car. She drove the car up the road for about a minute, not wanting to get too far and have to spend ages walking back.

Parking the car along the side of the road, she jumped out, leaving the suitcase behind. That was the bait. Elena chuckled to herself as she ran back to their room.

When she finally got back to the room, her clothes were sopping wet. No matter, she'd change into dry ones later. She would definitely be going to 'get the suitcase' with Damon so she could see his reaction when he realized his car was gone.

Dropping the keys back on the dresser, as if they hadn't been touched, Elena quickly pulled on a housecoat over her dripping clothes. Otherwise, Damon would notice they were wet, and would get suspicious. There. He wouldn't now.

* * *

Damon emerged from the bathroom, a towel around his waist and smelling fresh. He raised an eyebrow at Elena who was sitting innocently on the bed.

"Where's my suitcase?"

Elena frowned, hoping she was a good actress. "What?"

"My suitcase, Elena. It was right here."

"Damon, I honestly don't know. I don't exactly go through your things." She kept her face calm, praying he wouldn't see through it. He didn't.

"I must have left it in the car then." Damon shrugged on his leather jacket, and his pants he'd worn during the day. Elena silently begged he would decide he needed his pyjamas.

After a moment, Damon sighed. "I'm not sleeping in these. I need my pyjamas."

Elena thanked whoever was out there for helping her, watching as Damon grabbed the car keys.

He started out for the car, and Elena followed. "I'll come with." She suggested when he raised an eyebrow. Damon nodded at her and together they walked through the rain, where Elena had been moments earlier.

They passed the lobby, and Damon let out a cry of rage. Elena clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.

"Where's my car?" Damon shouted furiously, and Elena bit her tongue. He turned to Elena, a murderous look in his eyes.

"Elena, if you've done something to it..."

She shook her head, smiling innocently. "I don't know where it could be, Damon."

Damon's face paled, and he looked around desperately. "B-but...I've had that thing since 1969...no..." He moaned and Elena rolled her eyes. Men and their cars.

Damon clenched his fists. "It can't be gone, my poor baby..." He whispered and Elena let out a giggle. He turned to her, and she bit her lip. Crap! She'd laughed!

"_Elena." _Damon said furiously.

"I don't know where it is!"

"But...But...no..."

Elena wished she had a video camera at this point. Damon looked so upset. Hopefully this would teach him a lesson, after what he did earlier.

"It's up the road." She said, rolling her eyes. Any longer and once he found out she'd taken it, he'd probably explode.

Damon glared at her furiously. "You little-" He fumed and grabbed at her waist, and she dodged him, taking off at a sprint as she giggled. Elena ran as fast as she could back to the motel room, knowing he would follow only after he'd gotten his car back.

She ran inside and shut the door behind her, peeling off her soaking wet clothes and changing into new, dry ones. Elena quickly jumped into bed and hid under the covers, just as the door burst open and a fuming Damon walked in, having finally found his car.

"That was not funny, Elena. You drove it really far up the road."

She smiled into the pillow, holding back laughter. It really was.

Elena continued to stay under the covers as Damon changed, and he finally slid into bed beside her nearly 10 minutes later.

"Get your car back, then?" She teased, touching his arm. He shrugged her off.

Elena pouted. Was he really going to be all mad about this? The silence in the room was deafening, and she quickly grew uncomfortable in the blackness.

She scooted over, trying to get a bit closer to Damon. He pushed her off.

"Stay on your side of the bed, Elena."

"Seriously? You're mad?"

"It wasn't funny."

"It wasn't funny when I thought you were hurt!" Elena cried. "Or worse..."

She shook her head. What was wrong with her? Damon sighed. "Alright. I'm sorry."

Elena sniffled. "Me too."

Damon pulled her in and she curled up next to him, not as close as last night though. Doing that again would've been inapropriate, and unfair to Stefan. Still...she wished she could. Maybe tomorrow night.

"Goodnight, Elena." The usual smirk was back in Damon's velvety voice.

"Goodnight, Damon." She smiled into his arm and closed her eyes as sleep overtook her.

* * *

**Review if you want to see Night 3! Hope you all liked Night 2 ;) If you guys do review, I'll try and post the next one as soon as possible!**

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**~DelenaRain**


	3. NIGHT THREE: Fight

**TEAM DELENA LISTEN UP **

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**ATTENTION: TRUTH OR DARE WILL BE NIGHT 5. I noticed lots of you were interested in that, but I already had it planned out before the suggestions and for the development of the story I'd decided Night 5 - hope that's not too long! Well, if you review, it'll come faster ;) *see what I did there?***

**Thank you all for the reviews! **

**~DelenaRain**

* * *

**NIGHT THREE**

Elena sighed, pressing her palm against the cool glass of the window pane as she stared out into the pouring rain wearily. The weather still hadn't eased up, just like the man had said it wouldn't on the first night. He'd been right. It still wasn't showing any move to clear up and stop raining. She looked back around to Damon, who was lying on the bed.

It had been another long, boring day spent inside. Elena was dying to get some fresh air, but with all the rain, she wasn't sure if there was any left. The second she'd step outside, she'd get soaked to the bone. And so they'd spent the day inside the tiny room, ordering room service and telling jokes. It was now going on midnight, but Elena couldn't sleep. She didn't feel tired.

"Come back to bed." Damon whined. "I'm getting cold over here without being used as your personal teddy."

Elena sighed. Damon was never going to get over the fact that for the past two nights, she _had _used him as her teddy, curling into him when the thunder got too loud and when the room seemed top dark.

"I can't sleep." She responded softly.

"I can see that."

Damon cocked his head to the side, studying her. Despite the fact that she'd said she wasn't tired, she looked exhausted. Probably just trying to look strong, he thought.

"Missing Stefan?" He asked, a bitter tone to his voice. It bothered him to no end that she was probably thinking about her perfect boyfriend right now.

Elena bit her lip. No. She didn't really miss Stefan that much - they'd been fighting a lot lately. But she couldn't admit that to Damon, could she? "Yeah." She lied, hoping he would believe her.

He did. "Right. Of course. Because the moment we get back you two can go riding into the sunset again, right? Sitting on your magical unicorns and looking at the rainbow."

Damon spat the words out harshly, and Elena knew that he was still upset about her choosing Stefan. She wasn't even sure if it was the right choice anymore, though. Not that she could say that to Damon's face.

"Why are you acting like this?" She said angrily.

"Just stating the obvious, kitten." He said casually, crossing his arms behind his head as he sat up in the bed and leaned against the wall.

"Damon, just leave me alone, okay?"

"Why?"

"UGH! You're so annoying!"

Damon smirked. "Wow, Elena. Someone has temper issues. Is it your time of mont-"

"DAMON!"

He grinned, chuckling at her anger for a moment before his laughter died down and his face turned sad. His lips pressed into a firm, thin line as he grimaced.

"But it's true, isn't it? You're thinking about Stefan, even while you're here with me."

Elena groaned. Why was he so interested in what she was thinking about? She looked out the window again, watching as the rain created another puddle outside their window.

"Why do you even care what I'm thinking about?" She asked slowly, her anger dying down as she took deep breaths.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because whenever I talk to you, you're wishing it was Stefan instead."

"That's not true." Elena was telling the truth, but she knew he wouldn't believe her, and he didn't.

"Oh really?"

"Yes."

Damon looked at her angrily, slipping out of bed and storming towards her. "Then how come whenever I talk, you look like you're thinking about something else, Elena?"

"I don't know what you mean." That was the truth _again. _But he still wouldn't believe her, she was sure of it. Damon had absolutely no respect for himself. He truly seemed to believe it was impossible for anyone to love or care for him.

"I think you do." Damon's voice was cold, and irritated. Elena huffed.

"Why can't you just shut up for once, Damon? I am with STEFAN!" Elena spat out, then froze. She clapped a hand over her mouth. That had been a terrible thing to say - she was so selfish! What on earth was wrong with her, mocking Damon about her relationship with Stefan like that?

"Damon, I didn't me-"

"I got the message, Elena." He picked up his jacket, and Elena watched with wide eyes as he began to walk towards the door. Was he leaving? NO!

"I think I'll spend the night somewhere else." He said bitterly, and Elena's heart melted at his sad eyes. How could she have been so mean? Why did she have to open her stupid mouth and say that?

"B-but-"

"You know, Elena, you spend a lot of time critisizing me for being so impulsive, but I think we all know who's _really_ the impulsive one." With that, Damon flashed out the door, slamming it behind him as he went.

Elena buried her face in her hands. She'd been so rude and obnoxious, shoving the facts in his face like that. Maybe she really was the impulsive one, to have just spat it out so clearly. Just 30 seconds ago, he'd been standing in that doorway, and now he was gone. Well, there was no point trying to find him now. He was probably long gone and staying in another room.

She wished she knew which one.

Elena made her way over to the bed, lying down on Damon's side. The pillow smelled just like him, for he'd been lying there only moments earlier. She inhaled deeply, the scent comforting. Just like every night, it was pitch black in the room, and she shivered uncomfortably. Before, she'd always had the option of cuddling up into Damon for comfort. Now he was in an entirely different part of the motel - somewhere - and she was alone with her fear of the thunder and the darkness.

She took another deep breath, smelling his pillow like it was the sweetest perfume. But he wasn't there.

Maybe she should go looking for him. But it was now midnight, and how was she supposed to find him at this hour in this light? He could be anywhere in the motel by now.

A shock of thunder shot across the sky and she jumped in fear. Even as a child, she'd always hated thunder. The night her parents had died, there'd been a thunderstorm while they drove home, before they reached the bridge. It didn't exactly help with her fear of it.

Elena almost thought he might have been joking. Or maybe he was waiting outside for her to fall asleep so he could come back in without her noticing. But she knew her words had cut him too deep for it to be a joke.

She was 18. She should be able to handle a bit of thunder and lightning, right? And the dark - she should've gotten over that. And she had - but she wasn't home, she was in a motel in the middle of nowhere, and now she had no one, except an angry vampire who was probably many rooms away from her by now.

A flash of lightning illuminated the curtains, and she sat up in bed, whimpering. Just like the first night, more images of her father drowning swam through her mind, and she shuddered in fear.

She needed to find Damon. Now.

* * *

Damon lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. He was extremely irritated. Elena's words had hurt more than he'd like to admit, and he couldn't seem to forget them.

It had been easy to compel a person into spending the night somewhere else and take their room. In fact, he'd done it in record time: 3 minutes and 37 seconds - using his vampire speed, of course.

He wondered where Elena was. It was the only thing that he could think about. Was she still in their room, curled up in the bed and trying to forget him? Or had she gone to the lobby by now to find some light?

Damon knew that she was scared of the dark and the thunderstorm, and he wondered why. Surely it wasn't because of the things themselves, was it? Did she have some bad experience related to them? Or maybe it was the things her mind conjured up in the dark...

He briefly considered the fact that she might be looking for him, and then pushed it away. No. Of course she wouldn't be doing that. Elena had probably lay down in the bed and pulled the blankets tight around her, happy that there was no one to share it with tonight. Their fight had probably already been forgotten by her.

But then...why could he hear footsteps echoing outside? There was a long pause, and Damon held his breath. Was that Elena? A knock sounded on his door, and he closed his eyes. He couldn't answer. Not if it was her.

"Damon." A voice whispered. So it was her. Interesting. Her voice was shaky, like she was scared. Instantly, Damon felt bad. She was probably terrified of this storm, like she had been every night so far. Maybe he should of...no. Her words were still embedded in his mind, cutting him deep.

He waited another 30 seconds, then finally let out his breath when the footsteps sounded again, and this time they got quieter and quieter until whoever it was -he liked to think it was her- was gone.

* * *

Elena trudged through the rain, holding her cardigan to herself tightly. Where was he? He couldn't have gone far - it had barely been 15 minutes! Now, which room would Damon Salvatore want to stay in...?

She looked around, her eyes finally finding another building - another part of the motel. She quickly jogged towards it, trying to escape the cold rain that had soaked her clothes inside out.

Reaching the overhang, Elena ducked into shelter and stode along the stone pathway. All the doors had umbrellas leaning against them, or wet boots outside of them.

There. At the end of the path, one room didn't have any boots or umbrellas leaning against the door. That had to be Damon's. Taking a shaky breath, she started for it.

Elena paused outside the door. Damon had to be in here, he had to. She knocked twice, rapping her knuckles against the wood quickly and firmly.

There was a silence, and Elena slumped in defeat. So he was in here. If it wasn't him, they would be answering. And he was ignoring her.

"Damon." She whispered shakily, just once, knowing he could hear her. More silence. Maybe it wasn't even him after all. Giving up, Elena turned, heading back to her motel building.

She threw the door open and stormed in angrily, slamming the door shut. Why did Damon have to be so difficult? She threw her wet clothes off and pulled on dry ones, drying her hair with a towel from the bathroom. She brushed her teeth - again - and brushed her hair, then pulled on a pair of socks and climbed into bed.

Before settling down, Elena eyed the chair in the corner. One of Damon's shirts was lying on it, discarded. She reached for the muscle tee, pulling it on and sighing softly as Damon's scent engulfed her, calming her down at once.

She lay her head on Damon's pillow once more, closing her eyes. Another clap of thunder roared in the sky and she shivered, scared. Where was her vampire when she needed him?

* * *

He made his way through the rain, heading for their motel room. Damon had tried, he really had, to stay mad at her. But when he thought of her scared doe eyes from the previous night as she flinched at the sound of thunder, and her shaky voice as she'd whispered his name just 10 minutes ago, his resolve collapsed.

He needed to find her, and make her feel safe again.

* * *

_She was at the bottom of the lake, pounding on the car window with her fists. Despite the fact that there was water everywhere, she could hear each one of her screams crystal clear._

_She begged them to let her out of the car, to save her. And by them she meant everyone. Her friends. Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Tyler, Jeremy, even April. And Stefan. They were all hovering outside of the car, watching her drown in front of them._

_But not Damon. He wasn't there. Elena's subconcious quietly wondered why._

_"It's your fault, Elena." Jeremy whispered through the water, his eyes cold. "You killed our parents. You went to the party that night. You deserve this."_

_"Please!" Elena sobbed, trying to unbuckle her seatbelt. _

_Stefan watched her with cold eyes. "You deserve this, Elena." He repeated Jeremy's words, and Elena covered her ears. "NO!"_

"NO!" Elena awoke screaming, tears running down her face as she thrashed around. "NO!" Her eyes were open wide, like a deer caught in headlights.

Warm arms encircled her. "Elena. Elena, look at me!"

She continued to thrash around, and Damon used his supernatural strength to pin her to the mattress. He'd come into the room, only to find his angel thrashing around on the bed and screaming. Whatever nightmare she'd been having, it must've been horrible for her to react this way.

Holding her to the mattress, Damon watched as her struggles eventually died down and she began to choke on her sobs. He helped her to breathe, sitting her up and rubbing circles into her back.

"D-damon?" She asked, her vision blurry through her tears. He nodded.

"I'm right here, princess."

She slumped in his arms, and he held her to his chest tightly. "You were having a nightmare." He whispered softly, stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head. She coughed, and he took her hand in his, holding it tightly. She squeezed back instantly.

"I-it was horrible! I-I was in the car, at t-the bottom of the l-lake again, and everyone was t-here, all my f-friends, and they w-were watching me d-drown!" She choked out the words, and he hugged her tightly.

Elena hid her face in his chest, breathing in deeply.

"It's okay, kitten. You don't have to tell me."

"Damon?"

"Yes, princess?"

"You weren't there, though. You were the only one that wasn't. It was like I-I knew that you w-would never hurt me." She swallowed thickly, and he tucked a strand of hair behind her small ear.

"Elena, kitten, you're tired, and-"

"Damon, I know what I saw! You were the only one that didn't want to hurt me!" She cried, desperately needing him to believe her.

"It's alright angel, I believe you, I do." He tugged the blankets over her, covering her tank top covered chest. She grabbed his arm.

"Please get into bed, Damon! Don't leave again!"

"Sshh. I know, kitten, I won't." He climbed into bed with her, and she snuggled up next to him, laying her head on his chest and looking up at him through her wet lashes.

"Damon, I'm sorry."

He sighed, brushing the water from her eyes. "I know, kitten. I am too."

Elena relaxed against his chest, closing her eyes. Strangely, she loved Damon's little pet names for her. Kitten, angel, princess...they made her feel special, like she was the only girl in the world to him. Maybe she was.

Damon closed his eyes along with her, stroking her hair as they slowly fell asleep together.

* * *

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	4. NIGHT FOUR: Teasing Elena

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* * *

**NIGHT FOUR**

Damon lay in bed, next to the only woman he'd ever truly loved...listening to her rant. It had been an extremely boring day, nothing much to do. Elena had spent the day fussing over her wet clothes, saying that the ones she was wearing were the only dry ones she had left. He'd watched with amused eyes as she fumbled around the room, trying to find more dry ones - she didn't.

"It's too hot!" Elena complained - for the 5th time that night. Damon was growing extremely tired of her consistent nagging about the heat - it was freezing outside, but he'd turned the heating up in their room. And Elena was utterly convinced he had turned it up too high.

Only one good thing had come out of this day - the lights were working again! The TV still wasn't, but at least they had light now.

"It's not too hot, kitten." Damon responded, rolling his eyes as he heard her huff in annoyance.

"Just because idiotic vampires think it isn't, it doesn't mean that they're right! It's too hot in here - I'm the human, so I can tell!" Elena moaned.

Damon grinned. "Whatever you say, kitten. But we're not turning the heating down."

She glared at him, pushing the bedcovers off of her and standing up. "Ugh. Whatever. I'm going to take a shower." She stumbled in the dark over to the bathroom and flicked the light on.

He rolled his eyes. "In the middle of the night, kitten?"

"YES!" Elena hissed. "Yes, that's what _kitten _here wants!"

Damon chuckled as she used his pet name for her. He lay back down in bed, crossing his arms behind his head and staring up at the ceiling. He listened as she turned the shower on, and peeled her sweaty clothes off, then stepped in.

Elena sighed in relief as the cool water ran down her back in streams, effectively cleaning and cooling her off. Damon drove her crazy, sent her right over the edge of insanity. All day he'd just watched her try to find dry clothes and had chuckled when she couldn't. Did he not see that she didn't have a sense of humour when she had no damn clothes left?

She massaged her aching temples, trying to get rid of her headache. Suddenly, the water turned boiling hot, and she shrieked.

She reached for the tap, fumbling with it as she tried to turn it back down to cold. But the tap was still pointing to cold - so why was it hot? She groaned. Clearly, the stupid shower had stopping working right.

Eventually, Elena got used to the hot water, and was just rinsing out her hair, when it quickly turned freezing again.

"ARGH!" She jumped back in shock, the icy cold water spraying her face and causing her to shiver. Elena wrapped her arms around herself, messing with the tap again as she turned it up to hot. The water stayed cold.

Okay, so clearly, the shower didn't work right anymore.

"Damon?" She called, fully knowing he could hear her. Maybe he could help with the tap...

He was inside the room in a flash - she could hear the door lock click open and feel the rush of air next to the shower curtain.

"Princess?"

Elena jumped at his close voice - it sounded like he was right beside her. All that was seperating her nude body from Damon Salvatore was a flimsy shower curtain, and she didn't like that.

"I-the tap isn't working. Can you tell me what to do? I turned it to hot, but it stays cold..."

She knew his everlasting smirk was surely plastered on his face as he listened to her ramble, and scowled. Damn that vampire's ego.

"Let me come in and see." Damon purred, and she watched in horror as the end of the shower curtain began to pull away.

"NO!" She shrieked, and he chuckled lightly. Why did he have to be such an ass - all the time? The edge of the shower curtain fell back into place and she sighed in relief. Deep down, Elena had a feeling that he would never have really come in unless she'd wanted him to - Damon might not admit it, or show it often, but he really was a true gentlemen.

And so was Stefan.

She was with Stefan, and yet Damon was standing not a foot away from her while she showered, protected only by a curtain. If Damon told anyone about this...

"Please just _tell _me what to do." She begged.

There was a pause before he spoke. "Kitten, I don't know what to do. I never have problems with my shower at home..."

She glared at his shadow that showed through the curtain. There he went again, boasting about his perfect bathroom. And she had to admit, sometimes she wanted to use it herself...

"Fine." Elena huffed. "Don't help. You're such an asshole, Damon."

"Kitten, that's not very nice." He purred, his velvety voice seeping through her body slowly. She bit her lip.

"Just leave."

"I don't think I will. Not after you've been so rude to me." His shadow bent down, and Elena wondered what in the world he was doing on the other side of the curtain.

Was he...picking something up from the floor?

Her clothes! Crap! She'd left everything -that meant her lingerie- on the floor. Crap, crap, crap...

"Damon! Don't you dare!"

There was a silence, and then she listened in horror as he spoke the next words.

"Right here, kitten, I'm holding your extremely...sexy lingerie in my hands." She could hear the amusement in his voice, feel his smirk on his gorgeous face...

"DAMON!"

"You know, kitten, I've got to admit, your taste in lingerie has definitely improved since my last visit to your bedroom dresser. Red silk with black lace on the cups?"

"DAMON!" She buried her face in her hands. This was so embaressing. Now she knew that he was holding her bra in his hands. Why did she have to bring that one on their trip? Why? Oh right. Because it was Damon, and wearing white, teenage lingerie would've made her feel like a little immature kid sitting next to him. She wanted to feel more like a woman. After all, this was Damon. And that made absolutely no sense...

"Just go." She begged.

"Fine, fine. But first..." Damon grinned, knowing this would severely piss her off. But it would be fun, since these were her last dry clothes.

Elena watched in horror as he threw her clothes over the shower curtain, gasping as they landed right under the heavy spray of water from the shower head! NO! Those were her last dry clothes!

"YOU ASS! Those were my last dry clothes, jackass!"

"I know." Damon purred, and she listened as the door slammed behind him as he left the bathroom. Elena bent down to inspect her clothes. Soaked. Absolutely soaked. Her top, pants, lingerie...all soaked with cold water. This was just so perfect, wasn't it?

Elena turned the shower off, stepping out and hauling her clothes onto the dry mat outside the shower.

No towel. Great- typical Damon. He'd taken that too. She shivered, pulling her wet lingerie on. She took a few steps with it on, and groaned. Elena peeled her lingerie off again - far too wet to sleep in.

She tried pulling the shower curtain off, but it wouldn't come away from the rings. And asking Damon would be no use - this was exactly what he wanted.

She unlocked the door and peeked around the corner of it. Damon was sitting, his arms crossed behind his head, propped up against a pillow. He'd turned every single light in the room on. So there was no chance she could sneak through the dark to the bed without him seeing anything.

On the other side of the motel room, all of her dirty, wet clothes were lying in a heap. They were all soaked too, from using them in the previous days. And they still hadn't dried - there was no heat, or even a dryer.

So nothing to wear but her birthday suit. Damon was such an asshole.

"Damon, please just turn the lights off!" She said, and he looked up at her. Damon grinned, noticing how she'd only poked her head out. So she'd realized she had nothing to wear then.

"No can do kitten."

"You're such a fu-"

"Kitten! There's no need for language!" He burst into laughter at her enraged expression, watching as she gritted her teeth and bit her lip, trying not to scream profanities at him.

"Please?" She whimpered, and he looked away from her quivering lips and wide brown doe eyes. He wasn't going to let that trick get to him, not tonight.

"I said, no can do."

"But-"

"No." He stared into her eyes again, watching as they lit up with anger at his words. "Guess you'll just have to walk over here...naked."

"DAMON!" She screamed crazily, shaking with anger. "Just turn your head!"

"Nope."

"Please!" She begged.

He sighed dramatically. "Alright, alright. It's clearly still kitten's time of mont-"

"SHUT UP!" Elena yelled, remembering how he'd attempted that stupid joke yesterday. He raised his hands in surrender, rolling over on the bed and facing away from her.

She sighed in relief, tiptoeing out of the bathroom and then sprinting to the bed, diving under the covers just as Damon turned his head back to her. He grinned. He hadn't seen much, but he had caught a glmpse of some bare back...

Damon flicked the light off, plunging them into darkness. He couldn't see Elena very well, even with his super vampire sight.

Elena curled up on the other side of the bed, far enough away from him that he couldn't reach out and touch her from his current position. Only he didn't stay there for long. Damon scooted closer to her, and she shrieked.

"Shh, kitten. There are neighbours, you know." He smirked, and she moved to the very edge of the bed, almost falling off and hitting the ground.

"Damon, move! Please!"

He shook his head, pushing himself closer to her. His arm grazed her bare stomach and she cried out in anger, having no choice but to push herself off the bed.

She tumbled to the floor, the blankets staying on the bed. Elena hit the ground with a thud and screamed once she realized that the sheets hadn't followed her. She was completely naked, lying on the ground.

She thanked god that he'd turned the light off, but could he still see her?

Damon glanced over the side of the bed, a grin stretched over his face, and she curled up into a ball, hoping he couldn't see anything through her arms and the dark.

"DAMON! You're such a pervert!"

He chuckled, then moved away from the edge of the bed. Slowly, she climbed into the bed, making sure the sheets covered all parts of her.

"Relax, angel, I didn't see anything. It's too dark."

Elena bit her lip, relieved that he hadn't seen anything but pestered by a nagging thought. "I'm not an angel, Damon." She said slowly. Still, she'd grown extremely fond of his pet names...

Just like last night, Elena ran them through her head. Angel, kitten, princess...Stefan never called her anything like that. Damon sometimes even called her 'cutie.' And when she was upset he would always call her 'sweeheart.' Stefan never said anything like that. It was probably just because he'd never thought of it, but the fact that Damon had taken the time to think of these things...

"No?" Damon asked, and Elena was jolted back into reality. "Because you seem like an angel to me, angel."

Elena smiled, happy for a second. Damon could really be a sweetheart sometimes, if he wanted to. "Why do you call me those things?" She asked suddenly.

Damon's eyes bored into hers. "Because they're true. You are an angel, Elena. And you're my princess. And kitten...I don't know. I just like that - it suits you." He chuckled, but Elena was silent.

_And you're my princess._

Elena had said terrible things to Damon, and yet he called her an angel; a princess. She knew that he was in love with her. But even when she'd repeatedly chosen Stefan, he could be so sweet to her...

She shook the thoughts of out of her head for a moment, realizing she was still nude under the covers.

"Can I please have some dry clothes?" She whispered, and he stared at her for a moment before sighing.

Damon slipped his shirt off and handed it to her, looking away as she quickly pulled it on.

"Tomorrow morning, while you're still asleep, I'll take all of our wet clothes and get them dried in the main motel. I think you can pay to get them dried somewhere. And then when you wake up, they'll be ready for you."

"Thank you." Elena said gratefully.

He nodded. "No problem-o."

She snuggled up to him, seeking warmth, and he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her to his chest. Elena tried to keep her blush hidden as she stared at his perfect abs and his tantalizing treasure trail, noticing how it disappeared under his belt buckle.

"Why are you blushing?"

Damn it. He'd caught her - he could probably feel the heat against his chest.

"No reason."

Damon sighed. "Elena, we can't keep doing this. What would Stefan think?" He pulled his arm away from her, and Elena whimpered at the loss of warmth and hard muscle.

"Damon, look. I know that it's wrong, but you know that these thunderstorms and the dark give me nightmares..."

He gazed down at her as she spoke, and she shot him a pleading glance. He sighed again. "Alright." Damon wrapped his arm back around her waist and she curled into him again, breathing in his comforting scent.

With Damon's warmth seeping through her shirt - no, his shirt - and his soft arm wrapped around her, Elena fell asleep easily.

Damon watched her as she slept, brushing hair out of her face. That had been an intersting night - seeing glimpses of Elena's bare back, listening to her scream at him, finding out she'd brought sexy lingerie on their trip...and here he'd thought she wore white, plain, and simple lingerie.

He smirked. She really was full of secrets.

"I love you." He breathed into her hair as she slept, hoping that one day, she'd be allowed to hear it...and might just say it back.

* * *

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	5. NIGHT FIVE: Truth Or Dare?

**Okay, so this is the long awaited 'Truth or Dare' chapter ;) I know lots of you wanted this...I hope I did Delena justice! **

**Warning: ok, this is rated T, because there are no real sexual situations...but Elena and lingerie might be two words you hear in the same sentence this chapter. Lol. If you don't want to see Elena walking in front of Damon in her lingerie, skip the last part of the chapter.**

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* * *

**NIGHT FIVE**

Elena watched as the raindrops rolled down the windowpane, wondering if the rain was really going to continue for another 3 nights. As this point, it looked like it would. Thunder rumbled in the sky and she groaned. The storm was just getting worse with each night - literally. The first night there had only been a few flashes of lightning - now, there was tons of it to support the thunder.

"I have an idea." Damon said slyly, and Elena turned to look at him. For the past five minutes, he'd been lying on the bed with his arms crossed under his head, complaining about how bored he was. So what had he come up with?

"What?" Elena said wearily.

Damon smirked. "How about we play Truth or Dare?"

"NO!" Elena cried, her face going pale. Who knows what Damon might ask her to do? Strip and give him a freaking lap dance or something? Probably!

He raised an eyebrow, still grinning. "Chicken."

She blushed. Great. Now Damon would taunt her about this forever. She was never going to live this down - he'd call her a scaredy cat for the rest of her life, surely...

Damon burst into laughter. "You're a wimp." He chuckled, watching as she glared at him.

"I am not!" She said, raising her chin defiantly.

"Then play." He whispered, smirking silently. Elena bit her lip. Maybe it wouldnt' be so bad. Maybe...maybe he wouldn't make her do something naughty or inappopriate. She sighed, knowing her mind was made up.

"Fine."

Damon grinned. "Great. And if you chicken out on something, you have to drink from this..." He brought out a bottle of bourbon, and Elena groaned. Perfect. She'd get drunk if she didn't agree to all his dares and all his truth.

"I'll start." She said quickly, not wanting him to begin the game. He waited.

"Truth or dare?"

Damon stared at her for a moment. "Dare."

Elena thought about it for a minute. What could she make Damon do? Run around naked? No - that would be bad, very bad. She blushed at the thought. How about...

"Dance for me." She said, then clapped a hand over her mouth! CRAP! How had that come out? No, no, no...

Damon grinned, standing up and grabbing the bottle of bourbon. Elena's mouth went dry as he raised his arms above his head and began to dance, swaying his hips to the sound of the rain and tilting his head back.

She swallowed thickly, looking at the ground. It didn't help that his shirt was unbuttoned, exposing all of his perfectly defined torso to her.

Damon sat back down after another minute, then smirked at her red face. He knew she'd enjoyed that - a lot. He'd seen her looking at the ground so she wouldn't have to watch - Elena was so in denial.

"My turn. Truth or dare, kitten?" Damon said slyly, and Elena gulped.

"Truth."

Damon was disappointed. He had a great dare planned out - but he'd save it for later, when she was more relaxed. So...what could he ask her?

"What's your favourite part of my body?"

Elena squeaked. Crap...she should've known this would come up.

"Everything." She whispered, before she could stop hereself.

"Everything?" Damon said snarkily. Elena blushed. She was so stupid, saying that. Why couldn't she just say his slightly crooked tooth on the side of his mouth? Or his amazing blue eyes? Or his perfect chest, complete with that teasing treasure trail? Or his dark hair? Or - nope. Her answer had been correct. Everything.

"My turn." Elena said, quickly changing the subject. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Elena frowned. She'd been expecting another 'dare' as his answer. So, what did she want to know?

"When...when did you...when did you fall...when did you fall in love with me?"

Damon looked surprised, but he quickly covered it up, staring deep into her eyes as he answered, his blue eyes flashing with mischief.

"The night we opened the tomb. You came and hugged me...but you didn't have to. I threatened to turn you the night before, and you were Stefan's girlfriend. And yet there you were, a little human in my arms, caring about me. I just...I started to heal then. From the wounds Katherine gave me. You fixed it, and I knew then that I was in love with you."

Elena stared at him, her eyes wide. She hadn't been expecting him to be so openly honest about that. Was that really, truly when he'd fallen in love with her? In a way, that was kind of...kind of adorable.

"Truth or dare?" Damon asked.

Elena sighed. Time to say dare before he started teasing her. "Dare."

He smirked, and she gulped nervously. What the hell would he have planned?

Damon watched her. He wanted to save his best dares for last - so this one, he'd have to actually think of. So...what could he ask her? Something amusing - it had to be something amusing. His later dares would be intense - this should be funny. His gaze lingered on her, glancing her over.

She was wearing a dark red top, with the top button undone. He grinned.

"Undo the second button."

Elena was confused. "What?"

"Undo the second button on your top. Now." He repeated casually, waiting for her to do it.

Elena was mortifited. He'd be able to see her bra! "You pervert!" She cried, folding her arms over her chest angrily. It seemed like Damon was always staring at her chest - wherever they were, he would take the chance if given one.

He chuckled, handing her the bourbon, and she groaned. She got drunk so easily...

"Fine." She huffed, quickly undoing the button and putting her arms over her chest. Damon glared at her. He couldn't see a thing through her arms.

"Elena.

She glared at him. "Ugh." Taking her arms away, Elena watched as Damon stared at her hungrily, his eyes never leaving her chest. Undoing the button had caused a lot of her cleavage to show - a fact that made her extremely embaressed. And with the way he was staring at her, she felt drunk already...

Damon licked his lips.

"My face is up here, ass!" Elena growled, and he chuckled, sliding his eyes up to meet hers. "Pervert." She muttered, and he laughed harder.

"Truth or dare?" She asked quickly, trying to move the game along.

"Dare."

Hmmm...what could she ask him to do? Nothing inappopriate - far too distracting. How about something funny?

"I dare you...to do a handstand!" Elena laughed, watching him glower.

"Uh."

"What, too scared to do something that a four year old can do?" She teased.

Damon glared at her, then bent down and pushed himself into a handstand. Elena burst into laughter, doubling over and clutching at her stomach to ease the pain. This was too good. She brought out her phone to get a picture, before remembering it was out of power.

He nearly toppled over, and she giggled as his feet touched the ground again and he sat down, shooting her nasty looks.

"Truth or dare?"

Elena thought about it. "Dare."

"You were a cheerleader, right?"

Elena nodded, confused. What was he going to make her do?

"I dare you to do the scorpion pose...using me as your wall." Damon grinned evilly at her and she choked. W-what? NO! That would be so...intimate, wouldn't it?

He gestured towards the bottle of scotch, and she moaned. "Fine."

Elena got down on her hands and knees in front of him, and he chuckled in delight. Now this was going to be fun, and extremely interesting to watch. And...feel.

She kicked herself into the pose, her feet slowly creeping lower and lower until they were at his goddamn crotch. She'd never felt more awkward in her entire life. She'd done this before on someone, and with the way you had to bend your body in the scorpion pose, that's where your feet ended up. In the person's crotch.

Elena gritted his teeth, listening as he chuckled. "My, my, kitten. This is...kinky."

She groaned, and he rolled his eyes. "Okay."

This was the hardest part, coming out of the pose. Because when you did...

Elena pulled kicked her legs back, pulling herself out of the pose. Her feet pressed firmly into his crotch as she did this - the only way to get out of it - and Damon burst into laughter.

"I like this pose." He grinned. Elena wrinkled her nose in disgust, sitting back down.

"Asshole." She muttered. He laughed.

"Okay, truth or dare?" Elena asked.

"Dare, princess. They're much more fun."

She thought about it. What else could she ask him to do? Not something kinky again - she gritted her teeth at the thought. Damon probably already had more of those planned.

"I dare you to...style your hair like Stefan!"

Damon chuckled, running his hand through his dark raven hair and pushing it up, so that it looked like Stefan's. Elena giggled. "I don't have any hair gel." Damon told her, and she shook her head.

"It's fine...Damon, you look like Edward!" She burst into laughter, rolling around on the bed.

Damon growled at the terrible comparison. "I could never look like that...that...pixie."

She smiled as he trailed off, staring at her furiously, his blue eyes bright and alert. She giggled again, then finally settled down. "That's true. You're far more gor-"

Elena stopped herself before the words came out, lowering her eyes to the ground. _Oh god, he probably knew what she was going to say..._

Damon's smirk stretched all the way over his face. "Gorgeous? Why thank you, kitten. Truth or dare?" He pushed his hair back to it's usual messy bed, sexgod style.

She blushed. So he did know she'd been about to say 'gorgeous.' Damn vampires. They always figured everything out, and the one that currently sat in front of her always seemed to know what she was thinking.

"Truth." She whispered. He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Who has better abs...me or Stefan?"

Elena nearly choked. CRAP. She was going to have to lie about this part...because she honestly thought Damon had the better abs. Stefan was _too _ripped for her taste. She preferred men who looked like they hadn't had to work for it, who weren't so ripped and muscly, who looked more like...ugh, like Damon.

"Stefan." She lied through her teeth.

Damon's smile slid off his face. "The truth, kitten. Now." He said, his jaw clenched.

Elena's cheeks burned red. Whatever, it was not like Damon having better abs would make her swap Salvatores. "Fine. You do. Stefan's too ripped...you're...you're perfect." She sighed, refusing to meet his eyes.

Sure enough, he started chuckling. "I thought so."

"My turn." She said, quickly changing the subject. "Truth or dare, Damon?"

"Mmm...truth."

Elena thought about it. What else did she want to know about Damon? She looked at him for a moment. His wide blue eyes were sparkling in the dim light, and she smiled.

"Where did you get your eyes from?"

Damon looked surprised, and she waited.

Why was Elena asking him that? Was she actually taking notice of his eyes for once? Did she always think about them? The questions ran through his head for a moment, and she cleared her throat, reminding him that she was still waiting.

"My mother. She had the same eyes and dark hair."

Elena took the information in. She could just imagine Damon's mother with his blue eyes that were sometimes dark, sometimes light, sometimes bright, sometimes icy...and his dark raven hair, which was always messy and unstyled in an adorable way.

"Was she beautiful?" She whispered. Damon nodded.

"Very. Now...truth or dare?"

"Dare." Elena answered without thinking. Damon's smirk widened and took over his entire face. _Shit. What had she done. Oh god, here we go..._

"I dare you, kitten...to give me a fashion show. Wearing this."

Elena made a choking sound. "WHAT?"

Damon was holding up a set of lingerie. It was dark red, with black lace stretching over the silk. There were diamonds encrusted in the waistband of the panties, and a small one between the cups of the bra.

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET THAT?" Elena shrieked. Because the set...was hers. She'd bought it a couple months ago, and she'd kept it hidden in the back of her drawers in her bedroom. Yes, she'd brought some...sexy lingerie on their trip, but not that set! Where had he found it?

"Doesn't matter." Damon purred. He threw the set at her. "Go change."

"NO! DAMON!" She reached for the bottle of scotch immediately. There was no way she was wearing that in front of Damon. That would be beyond betraying Stefan, it would be betraying herself; her morals. The one thing that she did not want him to get the satisfaction of seeing was her body - whether it was in a bathing suit or lingerie. He would never, ever, ever, EVER, let her live that one down.

Damon shrugged. "O-_kay."_ He watched her pick up the bottle of scotch, and Elena stared at him uneasily.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Damon, seriously! What is it?"

He smirked. "I know your intolerance to that stuff...you get drunk really easily, and when you do, you tend to do...very crazy things. Remember the summer that Stefan was off being a ripper and I found you outside the grill one night, flirting with a middle aged man?"

Elena blushed at the memory. "I was tired, okay?"

"And drunk. Elena, he was like 40."

She rolled her eyes, turning her face away.

"My point is, you'll probably end up dressing in that thing anyways when you get drunk. And then, things could go far...as you know, my control when it comes to sexy doppelgangers isn't the best." He smirked.

Elena bit her lip. Maybe...maybe he was right. She got drunk so easily, that she usually lost her mind for the short period of time that she was and did stupid stuff. What if he was predicting the truth? Damon would surely dare her more inappropriate things and she'd end up drinking the whole bottle, wouldn't she? And then she was screwed...

She gritted her teeth. "Fine. But...ugh, fine. You are such a pervert, Damon. You're so disgusting."

Damon merely smirked, unaffected by her words. She was just angry. He tossed her the lingerie and she headed for the bathroom. He watched as she closed the door, and then he lay back on the bed. This was going to be the best fashion show ever.

Elena was pissed off. She could hardly believe he was making her do this. She slipped on the stupid lingerie, then unlocked the door. She would never forgive herself for this...

Elena slowly tiptoed out, keeping her arms at her sides so as not to tempt herself to chicken out.

Damon's eyes widened in disbelief as she walked out of the little bathroom. So she'd gone through with it. And it was a damn good thing she had. God, she was gorgeous. Elena had an absolutely tiny waist - not that he hadn't noticed that before. She was extremely curvy in all the right places. It wasn't like he'd never seen Katherine dressed in lingerie before, but this was different. This was Elena.

Her legs were the longest he'd ever seen - could they actually be longer than Katherine's? His eyes trailed over her figure appreciatevely. The push up bra was working perfectly for her. The black and red lace of the sultry lingerie suited her skin perfectly, even in the dim light.

He let his gaze wander over her one last time - over her long legs, curvy hips, tiny waist, and then coming up to linger on her chest.

"You know, kitten...you should wear push up bras more often. They would work well with all those tiny tops you seem to wear so much."

Elena gritted her teeth. "My eyes are up here, you know. You're an asshole Damon. I'm not forgiving you for this."

"I bet you will when we turn off the light, and everything goes black and stormy." He said quietly, and Elena knew he was right.

"Are you done embarassing me?"

"I guess."

She headed back to the bathroom, slamming the door with a loud bang. Elena slipped off the stupid lingerie and changed back into her normal pyjamas. She got ready for bed and walked back into the room, hurling the lingerie into his smirking face.

"You can keep those." She hissed. "I don't want something you've seen me in, not anymore."

Damon raised his eyebrows, but didn't complain. She watched in disgust as he folded up the bra and panties and shoved them in his pocket. Of course he'd do that. It was typical obnoxious Salvatore behaviour.

"Whatever, kitten. I think our little game of truth or dare is over...so why don't you come over here and get some sleep?"

"I think I will." Elena snarled, utterly humiliated. She was still fuming over what he'd just made her do. "I'll get some sleep, for sure. I don't want to talk to you anymore."

She curled up in the bed, tugging the covers up over her body and keeping her face away from his. She could feel him lie down next to her, his warm breath tickling her neck. His chest was pressed into her back, and she decided not to fight him. She was far too weary to have another argument.

"Is kitten humiliated?" Damon asked innocently.

"Yes, _kitten's _humiliated! So don't act all innocent!" Elena yelled.

He chuckled, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her to him protectively. He snuggled closer to her, and she ground her teeth together in frustration.

"Why did you have to make me do that?" Elena whispered. He rolled his eyes - or did he? Probably. She couldn't see in the dark.

"Princess, it's no different than seeing you in a bathing suit."

"YES, it is!" Elena cried. Damon chuckled.

"Not really. I think kitten's tired. She needs some sleep."

Elena shook her head angrily. Damon sighed.

"Okay, look. Kitten, you don't need to be embaressed in front of me. It was just a game of truth or dare. It's over now. Just relax and get some sleep. I think the whole lingerie ordeal has gone to your head."

Elena huffed, but decided to stay silent for the moment. He was right, it was over. And it wasn't like she wanted to do it, right? So it wasn't cheating on Stefan...she sighed. Yes, it was. She should've protested until the end and just refused to play, even if meant a lifetime of teasing from Damon.

Damon. The vampire who was currently nuzzling his face in her neck, trying to calm her down and soothe her.

She sighed again. She was far too tired to argue with herself right now, so she decided to just leave things be. She let her body relax and allowed Damon to mould their bodies together, keeping her warm in his strong arms as his muscles flexed around her.

Yes, in a way, she'd cheated on Stefan. But she couldn't think of anything else but Damon right now, and the way his body pressed against hers felt good in a way that she knew it shouldn't.

* * *

**Review if you want to see Night 5! **

**Hope you all liked Night 4 ;) If you guys do review, I'll try and post the ne****xt one as soon as possible!**

**REMEMBER THE POLL!**

**1) GO TO Portrait Magazine. net (no spaces)**

**2) VOTE VOTE VOTE**

**3) REFRESH REFRESH REFRESH**

**4) DO IT AGAIN**

**5) DELENA MUST WIN**

**3 more days - yes! **

**OMFG DID YOU SEE THE FUCKING TRAILER #2 for 4x10? HOLY FUCKING SHIT. Elena: "I didn't sleep with Damon because of the sire bond, I slept with Damon because I'm in love with him."**

**3 more days till we get to see that!**

**~DelenaRain**


	6. NIGHT SIX: Lessons from Damon

**Okay, so I know some of you wanted a kiss between Damon/Elena...I had this idea and I hope it serves you all and Delena justice ;)**

**Thank you all for the reviews - can we make it to 200? :O**

**~DelenaRain**

* * *

**NIGHT SIX**

"Here you go." Damon said, setting the plate down in front of her. Elena smiled gratefully.

"Thanks." She stared hungrily at the plate of pasta, and began wolfing it down at once. The power on the stove had gone back on earlier that day. They'd been sitting on the bed, Elena flipping through a magazine and Damon teasing her about her crush on Justin Bieber when the whirr of power had sounded in the room, and Voila! The stove was working again. No more eating junk food, crackers, and insta-noodles from Damon's car. She could finally have a proper meal.

"Hungry, kitten?" Damon teased.

She rolled her eyes, far too hungry to stop eating and argue. Within five minutes, she'd finished the entire plate of pasta. Damon laughed.

"I'll take that for you." He picked up the plate, and washed it in the sink, cleaning the leftover pasta sauce off it. Elean smiled, thanking him again.

"No problem-o. So, what do you wanna do? Play truth or dare again?" Damon asked, smirk. She glared at him.

"By the way, kitten. I noticed you took my advice from our game and wore a push up bra today. Smart choice! I love the way it pushes up your-"

"DAMON!" Elena shouted.

He chuckled, and she slapped his arm.

"How many times do I have to remind you? My face is up here!" She yelled, pointing to her face. He burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

"Really? Because there are lots of interesting things below your face."

Elena's face flushed at the unexepected statement, and she turned away from him, pushing him out of her way. He sat down on the bed, still chuckling as he watched her stride over to the laptop they'd set up that day.

"You know, you could've told me you brought a laptop." Elena growled, still angry that he'd kept it hidden in his car for 5 days. He smirked.

"Whoops."

Elena glared at him. "Sooo, can I use it?"

Damon stared at her for a moment, tapping his chin thoughtfully in a way meant to tease and annoy her. It did. She sighed in irration, waiting. He grinned.

"I guess."

Elena breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Damon." She flipped open the laptop and ran her fingers along the smooth keyboard. Damon had a password on his computer? Huh.

"What's the password?"

Damon smirked. "051010."

She frowned. 051010? But why? That had no meaning. Hold on...

05. 10. 10. October 5th, 2010. That was only a couple months ago, since it was now January 2011. **(DE did not have DEx yet like they did on Nov 29th, 2010 in the show) **

And...what? But October 5th was the day...the day that...

"That's the day that we kissed on the porch." She blurted. Damon stared at her for a moment before nodding.

"Yes."

"O-oh." Elena was unsure how to react to this. So every time Damon used his computer...he would think about that. She flushed, glad he couldn't see her face. She typed the numbers in, and sure enough, they worked.

She opened up internet explorer and logged into her email account. If her phone was dead, and she couldn't charge it, she'd just have to email Stefan. She glanced back at Damon. He was still drying the plate and cutlery. Maybe if she could be fast, he wouldn't notice and get angry...

_To: Stefan_

_From: Elena_

_Hey, I miss you :( _

Elena sent the message, turning down the volume on the laptop so Damon wouldn't hear the little bleeping noise it made as it was sent. Damon would start hurting if he found out she was using his computer to talk to Stefan...Stefan, whose reply came within seconds.

_To: Elena_

_From: Stefan_

_Miss you too. When will you two be back? I can't wait to kiss you._

Elena smiled at his message. She looked back at Damon. He appeared to be dishing out some more pasta for himself now. She hurriedly typed in her message.

_To: Stefan_

_From: Elena_

_We should be back in two days. I can't wait to kiss you too ;) __Damon is just so annoying..._

It was true, he was. But she couldn't help but remember all the sweet moments they'd had together. Every night they'd slept curled up together, him comforting her as the storm raged on. He'd just cleaned up and cooked for her moments ago. When she'd had that nightmare the night they fought, he'd made her feel safe again.

_To: Elena_

_From: Stefan_

_Tell him to keep his paws off you. I swear, my brother has no self control. He's a selfish dick, Elena. Anyways, yeah I can't wait to kiss you. I love you. I'm expecting a great night when you get home, 'Lena._

Elena shifted uncomfortably as she read Stefan's message. _I'm expecting a great night when you get home._ God, sometimes, she felt so uncomfortable around Stefan. She felt like he always expected more from her when they made love, even when they kissed.

"Aww, is kitten feeling uncomfortable with her boyfriend?" Damon's mocking voice sounded in her ear, and Elena shrieked. Damon was leaning over her shoulder, reading all her messages.

"Damon! Go AWAY!"

"Nah. I think I'll stay here and ask you some questions."

"Ugh." Elena muttered angrily, turning back to the laptop.

_To: Stefan_

_From: Elena_

_Yeah. I gotta go, Damon's being a dick again. _

_I love you too._

Elena felt Damon's body stiffen as she typed the last four words, and she glanced around to see him looking tense and on edge. She sighed.

"Damon-"

"So. Kitten. When you're around Stefan, do you usually feel uncomfortable?

"What? NO!" Elena protested. Damon could be so inappropriate sometimes! It was none of his business to get involved in her and Stefan's personal life together!

"Really, princess?"

"Fine. Look, sometimes, when we...you know, or just when we kiss, I feel like I'm not living up to his expectations." She confessed. It was a stupid thing to tell someone, especially Damon, but she needed to talk to someone about it. Really, really badly.

A smirk crept onto Damon's face, and Elena began to regret her words as he grinned at her evilly.

"Hmm. I have an idea. How about I give you kissing lessons?"

Elena was frozen for a moment, before her mind finally registered what he'd just said. "WHAT?"

"Kissing lessons. You know, I could show you how to kiss someone properly. Like a real kiss. Passionate, and intense." Damon's smirk was reaching across his entire face now, and she glowered at him.

"You're just a jackass trying to manipulate me, Damon."

He raised his hands in surrender. "Am not! I'm just being helpful."

She scoffed at this. "Helpful. Sure. You're disgusting. Stefan is my boyfriend."

He rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. Elena logged out of her email, seeing that Stefan had sent her a quick 'okay' as a reply.

"Look, kitten. It's not cheating if I'm helping you and Stefan. I'm just suggesting that I show you how to kiss people. If you want to satisfy Stefan...well, I can show you how to do that by kissing him."

A seed of doubt planted itself inside Elena' head. It wasn't technically cheating, was it? Bad Elena! She scolded herself, feeling her mind beginning to warm up to Damon's naughty idea. She couldn't just start kissing him, though!

Kissing Damon would be far more scary than kissing Stefan! Because Damon wasn't a teenager. He was an adult, and a very attractive one. Her mind went back to how she'd packed her sexy lingerie on this trip, because wearing young teenage lingerie sets would make her feel immature, foolish, and childish when sitting and sleeping next to Damon.

But maybe he really could help her. Maybe if she did this, she wouldn't feel like a fool when with Stefan.

She stared at the darkly handsome vampire in front of her. "Fine." She hissed. "You win. This better be fast."

Damon looked shocked for a moment, before he regained his composure. "Perfect, princess. Come here." He sat down on the bed and patted the spot beside him.

She reluctantly walked over and sat down. He stared into her eyes. "Let's work on cheek kisses."

Elena raised her eyebrows, confused.

"When you kiss someone's cheek? Let's work on that." He explained. She thought about it for a moment. Just a cheek kiss, right? It couldn't be that bad. Their lips wouldn't even be touching...

Damon moved closer to her, and she watched, frozen, as his blue eyes appraised her for a moment before he pressed his lips to her left cheek. She swallowed. Damon's lips felt soft and silky - is that how they would feel on her lips? From their previous kisses on the porch and in Denver, she guessed they would...

He pulled away, and she sighed at the loss of contact.

"Your turn." Damon grinned at her. She took a deep breath, then leaned in.

The second her lips touched his cheek, she could feel his breathing grow heavier. He left out a gasp as her lips grazed over his jaw for a second, before settling in a spot in the center of his cheek.

The little hairs on his cheek that he'd neglected to shave the past few days left his skin slightly rough - and Elena loved it. Damn it, she absolutely loved it. But it was time to stop now.

She pulled away, blushing furiously. Damon looked out of breath.

"Okay. Next up - the greeting kiss. When we get back, my brother is going to want a good first kiss from you. And you need to make it exciting."

Elena froze. On..the lips? But...what if...

She was doing this for Stefan, though. Wasn't she? Not for selfish reasons, to practice for Stefan. It would be fine. But deep down, she knew that this was cheating. That kissing the man in front of her on the lips was entirely unfair to her boyfriend back in Mystic Falls.

Still...she wanted it more than anything right now.

He motioned for her to come closer, and she scooted over, his hip pressing against hers. He smirked.

Damon pulled her in, and Elena gasped as their lips touched. Damon's lips _were_ soft; silky. Just like she remembered - so her guess had been right when he kissed her cheek. The first time she'd kissed him he'd been dying - his lips were sweaty and salty.

But now...they tasted perfect. The last two times they'd kissed, on the porch and in the motel...well, his lips tasted just as good as they did then. Something she couldn't explain.

"Exciting." Damon mumbled against her lips, reminding her that what they were doing was merely lessons. Lessons. Right. _Be more exciting, Elena_, she told herself.

No, it wasn't just lessons. God. Jesus Christ. She was kissing Damon Salvatore. She was kissing her boyfriend's brother.

Damon's hands went up to cradle her cheek and she found herself fisting her own in his dark raven hair, pulling him impossibly close. Their lips moulded together and she found herself melting into everything that was Damon Salvatore...his touch, his smell, his skin, his _lips..._

Now...back to the task at hand. She was supposed to be practicing a greeting kiss for Stefan. _Be more exciting._

Using the hands that sat in the vampire's raven hair, Elena pulled him in tightly. Their noses sat side by side, and Elena kissed him hungrily. She was supposed to be thinking of Stefan.

Her boyfriend. Stefan. Her boyfriend. Stefan. Her boyfriend. Ste-

Oh god. Damon's right hand encircled her waist, pressing their bodies together. How in the hell was she supposed to think of her boyfriend right now? Elena couldn't even remember his name. Steven? No. Stefan?

Yes. No. What was she doing?

"Damon stop!" She gasped against his lips, and he let go of her immediately, his hand releasing her waist at once. She gasped for breath, clutching at her stomach.

Damon stared at her with wide eyes and a questioning look, obviously confused.

"I-that shouldn't have happened." Elena mumbled, unable to meet his eyes. He sighed.

"Elena. It was just a lesson."

"But-"

"Okay, next one!" Damon said cheerily, and she bit her lip, fighting with herself. "That was pretty good, how you pulled me in nice and close. Your greeting kiss has been perfected. Now, let's work on laying down kisses."

Elena choked on air, her eyes widening. He rolled his own orbs.

"Just lessons." He reminded her. "Now come here."

She swallowed, feeling unsure. Laying down? Kissing Damon? This was going to end bad, very, very, _very _badly...

Damon smirked. "You know, angel, I can hear everytime you swallow nervously. Don't be nervous. It's just a kiss. Just one kiss."

Elena blushed furiously, and he tilted her chin up to meet his eyes.

"Laying down." He added, and she continued to blush as he grinned like a cat who just got the mouse.

Damon pulled her in, his arms wrapping around her waist, and she put her own arms behind his head. Their noses brushed, and then their lips were touching again. Elena tried to hide her smile as he kissed her deeply. It felt so damn right.

His tongue darted out, pushing her lips apart and seeking entrance. She pushed her own to meet his, and they battled for dominance while she combed her fingers through his dark raven hair.

A thought was nagging at her. _Don't do it, don't do it..._

"Damon..." She moaned into his mouth, and she felt him smirk against her face.

"Kitten." He moaned back, and she giggled into his lips softly. Even now, he would still call her his funny little pet names that she loved so much.

She suddenly remembered that they were supposed to lie down, and gasped as she felt Damon gently push her down on the bed. He was on top of her; his lean body pressed into hers.

She could feel every hard plane of his body, every bit of his skin against hers. She ran her fingers along his hard chest, then, without thinking, slipped her hands under his black muscle shirt and pressed her palms against his muscles, feeling his abs and warm skin.

Something tugged at the back of her mind, and she ignored it. This felt too good.

Damon trapped her legs beneath his own, and their legs tangled together. Without a second thought, Elena pushed his black shirt up over his chest and he lifted his arms to help her get him out of it. Within seconds, the black shirt was lying discarded on the floor.

Damon's hands reached for her own red camisole, pushing it up and over the skin of her stomach. She sighed happily as he began to push it over her bra, then froze.

"Damon!" She yelled, and he froze aswell. She yanked her shirt back down, breathing heavily.

Oh god. What had she just done. No no no no no no no no...

Damon sat up. His hair was ruffled and he was still shirtless. She could see tiny marks where her nails had dug into his skin as he'd kissed her hungrily. No. That hadn't just happened...

"W-what've we done?" She whispered shakily, and suddenly, Damon looked guilty.

"Elena, I-"

"NO! How could you? How could you let it get that far? You took advantage of me!" She shouted. Her hand came up, and she slapped him hard across the face. The sound echoed across the room, before all went silent.

Damon's blue eyes went dark; they were filled with lust. He leaned in and she shivered as he grabbed her and pulled her against his chest, trapping her there.

"I. Would _never._ Take. Advantage of you." He hissed, and she was silent. He was right, she was wrong. Damon wouldn't take advantage of her, not ever. She knew that. And she'd blamed it on him.

"You're right. This is all my fault." She whispered, burying her face in her hands. His gaze softened.

"Elena-"

Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she let out a sob. "No! Damon, I, I...I cheated, I cheated on...I..." She burst into tears, pushing him off her and springing up from the bed. Elena sprinted to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her, sinking down against the door and sobbing.

No. Why...why...why had she had to...oh god...

She turned the shower on and threw off her clothes. She needed to clear her head and get the dizzying scent of the dark haired vampire in the next room off of her.

Elena stepped into the shower and made sure the water was icy cold and freezing. She shivered, wishing she could turn it to warm - but she had to wake herself up and get focused. This would never happen again. Never.

She'd cheated on her boyfriend. Her loyal boyfriend, who would never, ever, ever...

She sunk to the shower floor and curled up into a ball, sobbing. Tears streamed down her face as the icy water rained down on her, and she continued to cry.

In the next room, Damon sat on the bed, his head in his hands. He'd pulled his black shirt back on, and was now feeling guilty as hell. He'd helped Elena to cheat on Stefan. Damn it. He growled and punched the mattress, nearly snapping the bed in two. But there was nothing he could've done. Her perfect hair, doe eyes, pouty mouth, soft skin, silky lips...

He could hear Elena crying her heart out in the bathroom, and he knew he should get up and do something. Silently, he unlocked the bathroom door and slipped inside. There was no steam on the mirror - the water must've been freezing.

"Elena." He whispered softly.

She stopped sobbing, and he heard her sniffle. "W-what do you want, Damon?"

"I need to make sure you're okay." He answered, listening as her breathing hitched in her throat.

"I-I'm fine. Please just leave." She begged. He shook his head, despite the fact that she couldn't see it through the shower curtain.

"I'm not going anywhere. Turn off the water. Now."

Elena sighed through her tears and shut the water off, wrapping her arms around herself. She didn't feel very comfortable with having Damon in the bathroom right after she'd cheated on Stefan, but she was too weary to argue. Damon passed a towel to her over the top of the curtain, and she wrapped her body in it.

"Come out." Damon said reassuringly, and she sniffled, stepping out of the shower.

This time, his eyes didn't trail down to her chest, trying to see through the towel. They stayed locked on her face, a sympathetic look in the blue orbs.

"Come here princess." He whispered, opening his arms, and she shuffled forwards.

Damon kissed the top of her head, whispering sweet nothings in her ear as she cried against his chest. The water from her wet skin seeped through the towel and caused his shirt to get damp, but he ignored it and continued to soothe her.

"It's not your fault, sweetheart. Ssh." He said softly, and her cries eventually died down. She lifted her head to look him in the eyes, and he nodded reassuringly.

"Get dressed and come and get some sleep." Damon said, handing her some fresh clothes. He walked out and shut the door, and Elena dried herself off. She pulled the clothes on and combed her hair out quickly, then brushed her teeth and washed her face. She felt wide awake now - that's what cold water could do to you.

Damon was waiting on the bed, and he peeled back the covers for her, watching as she climbed in. He set a box of tissues down on the bedside table and then lay down next to her, pulling the covers over them both.

"Go to sleep, angel." He whispered, and she snuggled into his chest, not caring if it was cheating anymore. So what? She'd already kissed Damon. Hugging him at night may make things worse, but it didn't really matter anymore. Stefan would hate her either way.

Tonight was different then the other nights. Elena suddenly registered every part of Damon that was touching her. His arms, flexing around her as he pulled her in close. His legs, tangled with her own under the sheets. His chest and muscles, pressed against her breasts through the thin material of the covers.

Elena knew what she was about to do was wrong. It was so, so wrong. And she couldn't care less.

She tilted her face upwards, and pressed her lips to Damon's. He tensed, then slowly began to react to her touch. His lips pressed tighter against hers, and it soon became a real, true kiss.

Suddenly, Damon pulled away. "But Ste-"

"I don't care." She whispered. And right now, she didn't. She was tired, she wanted to kiss Damon, and nothing else mattered. **(A/N in chapter 8 where they get home, you'll see why Elena kissing Damon doesn't necessarily make her a 'slut' or something like that...)**

Damon sighed, turning his face away. "You're tired and you need sleep, kitten. We'll discuss this tomorrow."

Elena nodded. "Okay." She whispered, burying her face in his chest. He rested his chin on her wet hair and breathed in, inhaling the scent of her strawberry shampoo.

"Elena...I...I love you." He said quietly, and she froze. How was she supposed to react to that? Everytime she heard him say that, she didn't know what to say in return...

"I know." She said after a minute, and he sighed in content. Damon pulled her in tighter and she breathed in his comforting scent, knowing that tomorrow, she was going to have to deal with the consequences of what she'd just said.

* * *

**Review if you want to see Night 7 - they're gonna have a partaaayyy! **

**OHMYGAWD 4X10 WAS FREAKING AMAZING AND PERFECT AND EVERYTHING RIGHT IN THE WORLD**

**"I love you Damon. I love you."**

**"It's the most real thing I've ever felt in my life."**

**"Being with Damon makes me happy."**

**"When I'm with him, it feels...unpredictable. Like...like I'm free."**

**# . **

**~DelenaRain**


	7. NIGHT SEVEN: Party Gone Bad

**Okay, I don't have an excuse. I basically had 5 exams in the past 3 weeks and yeah. But that's no excuse. So then I was getting all these reviews and I was like holy shit, I've gotta update! I looked at the calendar and realized it's been almost a month since I updated and lol I was pretty disgusted with myself. **

**Thank you all for the reviews - it's so cool to average 44 reviews a chapter *O***

**~DelenaRain**

**PS: THERE WILL BE ONE MORE CHAPTER WHERE THEY ARRIVE HOME AFTER THIS**

* * *

_Previously_

_"Elena...I...I love you." He said quietly, and she froze. How was she supposed to react to that? Everytime she heard him say that, she didn't know what to say in return..._

_"I know." She said after a minute, and he sighed in content. Damon pulled her in tighter and she breathed in his comforting scent, knowing that tomorrow, she was going to have to deal with the consequences of what she'd just said._

**NIGHT SEVEN**

Elena glanced herself over in the bathroom mirror. She straightened out her dress and fixed up her pin-straight hair, flinging it over her shoulder and checking her makeup. She adjusted the neckline of her dress, making sure that a teensy bit of her black lacy bra was showing.

This was completely, and utterly, inapropriate. She was having a party, in a motel room with ONE bed, with her boyfriend's older brother. The man who also happened to be far more stunning then his younger brother. He was also a vampire, and a dark, seductive, bad boy.

He was Damon Salvatore, and he was waiting for her in the motel room. Taking a deep breath, Elena unlocked the bathroom door and stepped outside.

**~12 hours earlier, 10:00 AM~**

Elena's eyes slowly opened and she blinked tiredly. Her head was not resting on a pillow - which was where it should've been. It was...on Damon's chest.

She gasped, shooting straight up and pulling the covers around herself. Damon's blue eyes opened immediately and he too sat up, blinking rapidly.

"Elena?" He asked, confused. She swallowed.

"W-what happened?" She whispered. But she knew exactly what had happened. Last night was crystal clear; she and Damon had kissed - more than once, to be exact - and then they'd fallen asleep together. Oh god. Stefan...

_They'd fallen asleep together. _Okay, so Stefan wasn't here and she planned on making sure he never found out about this. But what if he was here? What if he did find out? He would be heartbroken. Which was why it couldn't happen again.

"Don't you remember last night?" Damon said slowly, answering her previous question.

"I...yes."

"Then you know what I'm going to ask you."

"Damon-"

"I want to know what you meant by 'I know'. No, I _need _to know. That's not exactly a normal reaction from you, Elena."

"I don't know what I was thinking."

"I think you do." He hissed.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. Obviously Damon would want to know what the hell had happened last night. Even she didn't know what had really happened. What had she been thinking, getting his hopes up like that? But he'd told her he loved her. She couldn't exactly just not have said anything. She couldn't have said the words back. She couldn't have yelled at him. She couldn't have-

"I _need_ to know what you meant last night by 'I know.'" Damon repeated. Elena groaned inwardly, feeling absolutely exhausted.

"I'm telling you, Damon, I don't know what I meant. I was tired and I wasn't thinking. I have no idea what I was saying." She said again, staring into his eyes as she tried to convince him it was the truth.

As usual, the dark haired vampire didn't believe her. He sat up and pulled the covers away from them, slipping out of the bed and tearing the curtains open. It was still raining outside, and this was their 7th day here. Hopefully, they'd be able to leave tomorrow morning - if they got lucky.

"Damon." Elena sighed, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder as she slipped out of bed after him.

"Whatever, Elena." He shrugged her hand off and kept his eyes out the window, staring into the pouring rain.

She watched him with sad eyes. There she went again - hurting Damon. It didn't matter if it was an accident or not. She'd still hurt him, and it hurt _her _to know it. She needed to do something to cheer him up. Because right now, she didn't have an answer for his questions. Maybe, deep down she'd known what she was thinking last night. But how was she supposed to explain her words, her actions?

"Why don't we do something fun tonight?" Elena suggested. "We could have a party."

After a moment, Damon turned back to her, a smirk tugging at his lips. "A party?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "You could grab some of your alcohol stash from the car, I could dress up a bit, you know. Just the two of us, hanging out and having some fun."

"Fun." He repeated slowly. "Fun. That sounds...fun." His usual smirk finally crept back onto his face and she couldn't help but smile back as his eyes lit up again.

**~Back in present~**

The bathroom door squeaked as Elena swung it open, placing one foot in front of the other as she casually walked out into the room.

Damon was sitting on the bed, his dark hair ruffled and his blue eyes mischevious. He had a small smile tugging at his lips, one that brightened as she walked out. He sat up straighter, his eyes scanning her.

"Elena...you look _stunning._" He drawled, and the faintest of blushes crept onto her cheeks. Hearing Damon say that still gave her butterflies in her stomach. Stefan barely ever voiced his opinion on her looks.

"Where's the bourbon?" She asked casually. He held up a few bottles in response, and she grinned.

"Music?"

Damon pointed at the dresser. "Stole a stereo out of the lobby...and a few CDs."

She rolled her eyes. Typical Damon. He would always keep that snarkiness, that charm about him, no matter what she did to hurt him. Or so it seemed. She really hoped she wouldn't screw this night up.

"Soooo...should we dance?" Elena asked, and Damon's grin grew wider. She blushed.

His eyes trailed down to her chest for a moment, and Elena almost wished she hadn't let some of her bra show. He was bound to make some comment about it. Sure enough, he did.

"Wow, kitten. You took my advice yesterday...and you're taking it again? I was right about push up bras suiting you. And black and lacy, my favourite. Was this all for me?" Damon drawled, and Elena's cheeks turned red.

"Stop staring at my chest!" She said defiantly, realizing Damon knew she was avoiding the question.

Thankfully, he didn't press the issue, only continued to smirk at her. He stood up and her eyes trailed over his black shirt. He'd rolled the sleeves up, and her throat went dry as she realized that the 3 single buttons on the top that were on the shirt were undone. Damon's glacial eyes bored into hers, his coal black lashes fluttering. She visibly swallowed.

"Shall we dance?" He said seductively, and Elena bit her lip.

Okay. Deep breath. This was so, so, _so _inappropriate. If Stefan found out that her and Damon were partying...that she'd dressed up for this dark vampire...that she was even letting a bit of her bra show...

He'd break up with her. Surely.

But Stefan wasn't here. Stefan didn't know. Stefan didn't _have _to know.

Tonight, it was just her and Damon, her dark prince. His hand was still extended, and Elena soon found herself stepping towards him and placing her palm in his. The touch sent bolts of electricity over her skin and through her veins, rendering her silent.

Damon flicked the stereo on, and she immediately recognized the song. Feel So Close. Perfect. Just perfect...she and Damon had danced to this before...

"Isn't this our song, kitten?" He drawled. She shrugged, stepping closer to him.

His arms wound around her waist and then their eyes were melting into each other, blue into brown. Elena took a deep breath, allowing herself to truly appreciate him. Damon was absolutely gorgeous. She loved the way his dark raven hair was always ruffled and slightly messy, as if he'd just gotten up. His pale skin and dark eyebrows matched each other perfectly. He had the most adorable, pouty lips...and she always, _always _wanted to kiss them.

Something tugged at the back of her mind. _This is wrong. Stefan is right, not Damon. Stefan is the one you want to kiss. Or should want to kiss. Or-_

Elena felt dizzy. Damon's eyes were a whole other story. Oceanic blue, framed with midnight black lashes that he always seemed to be batting unconciously.

No, not just Oceanic blue. Glacial blue. Royal blue. Dark blue, light blue, lust-filled blue, romantic blue, happy blue, sad blue, shocking blue, deep blue, sky blue, midnight blue...

"Elena?" Damon's voice broke her out of her trance, and she gasped.

Their lips were just inches away from touching, and she pulled back at once.

"Damon! I - what - I'm sorry, I didn't..."

"It's fine." He reassured her. Elena was so confusing. One moment she wanted to kiss him, the next she'd slap him, then she'd be crying over kissing him, then she'd come back wanting more...

So no, it wasn't fine. But tonight was supposed to be fun.

_I wear my heart upon my sleeve, like a big deal_

The music echoed through the air and Elena wrapped her arms around Damon's neck, pulling him close. His nose nuzzled hers, and she smiled.

_Your love bows down, I mean surrounds me like a waterfall_

This was her favourite part of the song, for whatever reason. She'd never known why. Damon spun her around and pulled her to him, so that her back was against his hard chest. She let out a breath she'd been holding. His arms were around her waist, pulling her even closer. She lay her head against his neck, and he nuzzled his face in her hair, inhaling her scent.

"Damon." She breathed, and he smiled into her hair.

"So what do you wanna do next, kitten? Truth or Dare again? Kissing lessons?"

She glared at him, secretly holding back a smile. She'd thought that spending 7 nights alone with Damon would be a disaster, but it had turned out to be probably the best week of her year. She'd never felt so free. Not with her friends, Matt...not even Stefan. It was something that only happened with Damon.

"What are you thinking about?" He whispered, and she looked up to see his blue eyes staring at her curiously.

"How do you do it?" Elena whispered. Damon frowned.

"Do what?"

"That. Let yourself feel so free. Like life's a party and you're the special guest."

Damon stared at her. "Life sucks, Elena." He murmured. "So get a helmet." He turned away from her, and she sighed. There he went again, putting up his barriers and walls and blocking her out.

Elena strode over to the stereo and flicked through the CDs. There. That would be a good one. She slipped the Ed Sheeran CD into the stereo and turned the volume up, turning back to Damon. He looked confused.

"Slow dancing can be fun too." She teased, and he rolled his eyes a little bit. There had to be some way to break the ice again.

She stepped into place and his hands slipped around her waist, pulling her in close. "I'm not gonna kiss you again, angel." He said quietly, and she frowned.

"And why is that?" It was the stupidest question ever, since Damon shouldn't be kissing her. But this was Damon. Why wouldn't he want to? Wasn't that what he wanted from her?

"Well, Elena, I've started to notice something." She spun her around and she twirled, landing back in his arms. "Whenever _I _kiss _you, _the whole planet has to know. But when _you _kiss _me, _suddenly your lips are tighter than the CIA."

She looked down at their intertwined hands guiltily. That much was true.

"This isn't much of a party, is it?" Elena whispered. He shrugged.

"Not really. But you still look beautiful."

Elena looked down at the ground uncomfortably. Damon frowned, tilting her head up and causing blue eyes to meet brown.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

"Elena."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. It's just...Stefan, he...never calls me beautiful."

Damon looked shocked. "No?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't know." She whispered. "Maybe he doesn't think I am. Or not. I don't know. It's just...don't most boyfriends do that? I mean Matt, he always used to call me beautiful. And you...you're not exactly my boyfriend, but you still do it."

"Of course I do. I'm in love with you." Damon muttered. She bit her lip. "But I guess I can't expect another 'I know' from you, can I?" He continued. Elena was silent.

"I didn't think so. And I don't know why Stefan doesn't say that. He's obviously a complete idiot." Damon began to walk towards the front door.

"He's not an idiot!" Elena defended.

"Whatever. I'm returning this stupid stereo and these dumb CDs."

"But we're supposed to have a party!"

"I don't want to do that anymore."

"Damon-"

The door slammed shut, and he was gone, along with their only source of music. Elena sighed. It looked like there would be no party after all. Why did she always mess things up? And what exactly was it that she'd said?

A bleeping sound in the background caused her to turn her head towards the table in the corner that Damon's sleel black laptop sat on top of. She'd used it yesterday to email Stefan.

Damon was so amusing. He'd told her yesterday that he wanted a Macbook - since he thought they were the best kind of laptops. But he hadn't wanted it to be the silvery white - so he'd compelled the manufacturers to make a black one for him. She rolled her eyes. Damon was so picky.

Elena walked over and realized that a new email had popped up in Damon's email account.

It was from Stefan.

She moved the mouse upwards to open it, clicking on the message and reading it.

_To: Damon_

_From: Stefan_

_Are you guys coming home tomorrow? You've been there for a while. Has the rain stopped yet?_

Elena quickly composed a message, checking over her shoulder for any signs of the blue eyed vampire she'd been stuck with for a week.

_To: Stefan_

_From: Damon_

_Hey, it's Elena. We'll be back tomorrow night if we get lucky. The weather's still pretty bad though, I'm not sure if we're going to make it back. It might clear up overnight._

She pressed send, and sat back, waiting for him to reply. What would Stefan have been doing all week? She and Damon had gone to Georgia to find out more about Connor Jordan, and Stefan had stayed home to keep an eye on Connor since he was still in Mystic Falls. Had Connor tried anything? Would Stefan be okay?

_To: Damon_

_From: Stefan_

_Oh, hey Elena. Where's Damon? _

Elena looked towards the door. Damon was taking a while...

_To: Stefan_

_From: Damon_

_He's gone out to get something from the car. How are you?_

Maybe this party thing had been a bad idea. Maybe it had just hurt Damon more. And maybe...maybe she was sad that they weren't having a very nice evening.

_To: Damon_

_From: Stefan_

_Oh. Then listen, Elena. Stay away from Damon. I know I said this yesterday...but please do. I don't want him touching you. My brother can be very persuasive sometimes, however. Just be careful._

Guilt immediately flooded Elena. Stefan wanted her to stay away from Damon. It was a little late for that now. So far, they'd slept curled up in the bed together every single night. Damon had seen her in her lingerie. Damon had dirty danced with her. Damon had kissed her numerous times. Yes, it was far too late.

_To: Stefan_

_From: Damon_

_I will. I'm being careful. I think Damon's going to come back soon, so I should go._

Would Stefan be able to detect any nervousness in her words?

_To: Damon_

_From: Stefan_

_Alright. I love you, Elena._

Elena swallowed hard as she read the words.

_To: Damon_

_From: Stefan_

_I love you too, Stefan._

With shaking fingers, she pressed send, feeling as though the entire email was a lie. She loved Stefan, she did. But was she _in _love with him? After kissing Damon, lying next to Damon every night, dancing with Damon...how were things going to go back to normal? Maybe there was a reason Damon and her had gotten stuck here.

"Typical. You'll lie to him and tell him I tried to rape you or something to protect your ass." A voice snarled. Elena jumped in shock and spun around.

"Damon!" She slammed the laptop shut. "I was just-"

"I have enough decency to not tell Stefan about everything that's happened. But what about you? You won't, will you?"

"I-"

"How are you going to do it?" Damon hissed. "When you lie next to him every night, when you sleep with him, are you going to be reminded that just days earlier, you were lying in the same position next to me? What about when you kiss him? Will you still be able to taste my lips, to feel them?"

"Damon, please-"

"This entire week has been a lie, hasn't it? You love Saint Stefan, you always will. He can do no wrong. So does that mean...does that mean..." Damon's voice wobbled, and his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

"No, Damon-"

"Does that mean that all this was fake? When we curled up together and cuddled, you were thinking of him? When we danced, you wanted it to be him? When we kissed...you pretended it was him?"

"No!"

"You were just playing me." His tone grew dark again, and he turned away from her. "Always playing me."

"Listen to me-"

"Just get away from me, Elena." Damon walked over to the kitchenette, his back facing her. She couldn't see his expression, only his hand as he poured himself some bourbon and held the glass with shaking fingers.

If he needed some space, she owed that to him. He wouldn't - couldn't - stay mad for long, right? Still, seeing Damon like that...like he hated her...it hurt more than anything. Damon was the one person in the entire world who loved her for all her flaws. Maybe he didn't now.

Elena looked away, tears brimming in her eyes. She stepped into the bathroom and quickly closed the door, locking it. Damon wouldn't be coming in tonight to annoy or tease her.

Glancing in the mirror, Elena realized she'd completely ruined her mascara. She placed her thumbs under her eyes and gently wiped away the ruined makeup, then peeled off her clothes. This night had been a total disaster. Elena stepped into the shower and turned it on. Thankfully, the hot water was working tonight. She washed her hair and scrubbed off all traces of Damon's scent. It wouldn't help that she smelled like him.

When she was done in the shower, Elena dried herself off and pulled on the clothes she'd brought in with her - her blue pyjama top and plaid flannel shorts. It was a waste of time, but she dried her hair and even straightened it. She wanted to look put together.

But the tears just kept coming and she finished straightening her hair and unplugged the flat iron, setting it down on the counter. Elena buried her face in her hands and cried silently, not wanting Damon to hear her. Was he still out in the room, drinking?

A sharp knock at the door interrupted her thoughts and she looked up.

"How goddamn long are you going to take?" Damon growled, and she realized with a jolt she must've been in the bathroom showering, dressing, and straightening her hair for at least 40 minutes.

Great, now he was even more mad. She quickly gathered her dress and 2 inch heels off the floor and piled them into her arms. Obviously Damon was getting impatient, because he broke the lock and swung the door open.

"Sorry!" Elena blurted, quickly grabbing her flat iron and makeup from the counter. "I'll get out of your way." She quickly hurried past him, keeping her face down and hiding her tear-stained cheeks.

Damon slammed the bathroom door and she stuffed her clothes in her bag, then walked over to the kitchenette. Shattered glasses were splayed all over the counter and empty bourbon bottles were lying on the ground.

She swallowed. This was her fault. Damon was hurting because of her.

Elena picked up the bottles and cleaned off the counter. This was more her mess than Damon's, since it happened because of her. Everything that happened to Damon...was her fault.

* * *

When Damon finally emerged from the bathroom the first thing he noticed was that the mess of bourbon bottles he'd created was gone. Had she cleaned it up?

Elena was leaning against the counter, watching him. He ignored her and walked over to the bed, slipping under the covers and facing the window.

He could hear her light breathing on the other side of the room, and he ignored it.

"Damon?"

He didn't answer, and she swallowed. He wasn't _going_ to answer.

She climbed into the bed and lay down, watching him. His back was turned and she desperately wished she could see his face, to know how he was feeling. She turned off the light and bit her lip.

A clap of thunder echoed through the sky and instinctively, Elena moved closer to Damon's warm body. The second her skin touched his, he let out a snarl.

"Get away." He growled, pushing her off. Elena's eyes widened.

"But-"

"Don't." He shot her a look full of daggers, and even through the darkness, she could see it. It silenced her and she looked away immediately.

Another clap of thunder caused her to jump up. A thunderstorm. Just like the night her parents had died - it was why they scared her so much.

"Damon." She pleaded.

He didn't answer.

"Damon!"

Silence.

"_Damon!_"

"You're 18 years old, Elena. I think you can handle a bit of thunder. I'm a 170 year old vampire. I don't want to snuggle up with you."

"But-"

"Why don't you go skype Stefan or something and tell him how you feel?" Damon said sarcastically. She choked back a whimper and lay back down, pulling the covers over her head like she did when she was a child.

Without Damon's body warmth, the bed was freezing. She shivered and reached her arm out. Her hand finally came into contact with his bare shoulder on the other side of the bed, and she nudged him.

"I'm freezing." She whispered.

"Don't wear tiny shorts and camisoles to bed."

"I'm scared."

"It's just a bit of thunder. Walk over to the lobby and go sit in the light."

"I miss you..."

"I'm right here. You don't need me, you have Stefan."

"Damon."

"Go to sleep, Elena." He sounded tired now, and she let out a distressed whimper, still watching the back of his head though.

"I can't. Not until..."

"There you go again, playing me!" Damon snarled. "Don't you get it? I know that if you were given the choice, you'd rather by lying next to Stefan right now."

"That's not true." She whispered. He scoffed.

"Don't take me for an idiot, Elena." That finally quieted her down and she reminded herself that Damon deserved some personal space. She couldn't take that away from him.

"Alright. Goodnight, Damon." She leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek, savouring the moment and the feeling. Damon stiffened, but he didn't pull away. He was merely silent, which hurt even more.

It took a while for Damon to get to sleep. He obviously was a light sleeper. But Elena knew when he finally slipped into dreams because his breathing evened out, and she watched his muscles relax. He was so innocent when he slept.

Scooting over, she curled up into his back and buried her face in his skin. It didn't matter what he was going to think when he woke up. He was here, she was here, and that was all that mattered.

If only it was that easy.

So in the darkness of the night, where no one, not even Damon could see her, Elena let the tears spill out.

* * *

**I'm going to do one more chapter to wrap it up - obviously the story can't end here. The last Chapter, Chapter 8, will be them arriving home...and then they have some things to discuss, don't they?**

**Drop a review if you want to see it!**

**So, I have some questions for you people:**

**1) 4x14? I was pissed there were no Delena Scenes...what did you guys think?**

**2) Who do you guys think will take the cure?**

**3) Tumblr - I think I'm going to be getting Tumblr soon, I'll probably go by DelenaRain as well. Can you guys give me some (especially if they're yours) blogs to follow? NOTE: YOU MUST SHIP DELENA**

**I can't wait for the 4x17 scenes!**

**~DelenaRain**


	8. NIGHT EIGHT: New Path

**Well, here's the final chapter, sorry it took so long :/ **

**I've been busy doing stuff, such as getting a Tumblr :D But I figured I needed to finish this story off before Thursday, sooo...here it is!**

**Speaking of Thursday...hating the no-humanity Elena -_- I dislike her...a lot. I want humanity Elena and Delena back :( **

**Well, at least it's certain that DE will be together in Season 5, 6, and that means endgame!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

**FINAL NIGHT (DAY/NIGHT 8)**

"Are you sure we have everything?" Elena asked - for the fifth time.

Damon sighed irritably. "Check for yourself." He said coldly, zipping up his black bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

Elena bit her lip. Ever since last night, Damon had been mad at her. And it hadn't helped when he'd woken up to find her holding him like a teddy this morning. She'd silently agreed to give him his personal space, and yet had broken that promise. Damon was still angry with her for last night's incident, and she wasn't helping anything.

The rain had started to calm, and thunder and lightning no longer clouded the sky. It was still grey and dreary, and the rain was still pouring down, but it had lessened enough that they were able to drive.

She got down on her knees, peeking under the bed she and Damon had shared for the past week. Her black cardigan was lying in a heap under the headboard, and she grabbed it, stuffing it in her bag.

In just 12 hours, she would be back in her house, with Jeremy and Bonnie and Caroline and...Stefan.

And then things would go back to the way they were.

As always.

Elena wasn't sure how excited she was for that to happen. Sure, she'd go back to her friends and family, see her boyfriend...and lose Damon. After her choice a few weeks ago, when she'd chosen Stefan, things had been awkward between her and Damon. They'd barely spoken. Everytime Elena went to the boardinghouse to talk to him, he'd make up an excuse and leave immediately. She knew that he was blocking her out. But while on this trip...it was like things had gone back to the way they used to be with each other. They were like best friends again.

She caught her eyes tearing up slightly, and wiped them quickly. She'd been so _stupid _last night.

If she hadn't gone on his damn laptop, then she never would've started talking to Stefan, and this never would've happened. Damon wouldn't have seen her type '_I love you too' _to Stefan, and nothing would've triggered this.

She turned to see Damon leaning in the doorway, the rain pounding behind him. "Will you hurry up?" He growled.

She sniffed, turning to look around their little motel room once more. It was absurd that so many huge things had happened between her and Damon in this small living space. The bathroom off to the right, the double bed they'd shared every night with the tacky beige covers, the little kitchenette...

"Can I just say goodbye?" She asked quietly.

Damon glared at her. "Are you kidding me? It's just a freaking room, Elena. Now, get out the door before I leave without you."

She sighed. "Fine." Elena strode out into the rain, giving the room one last look of sadness before Damon slammed the door on this little trip forever - literally. He'd pulled the car up in front of the room, and they set their bags down in the trunk. Elena jumped when he slammed the trunk lid down unneccessarily hard.

They climbed into the car. "I already checked us out." He said emotionlessly, and she nodded numbly.

And then Damon started the car, and pulled away from the little motel that so much had happened in. Elena allowed herself one glance back, and then they were too far away for her to be able to see anything.

* * *

"Can I turn the radio on?" She mumbled. They'd been driving for over 2 hours now, and she was exhausted. They'd left the motel at around 3:30 in the afternoon, and it was nearing 6 o'clock. The sky was starting to darken already, and Elena's eyes were drooping shut. She and Damon hadn't even exchanged a glance; he still refused to talk to her.

"No." It was the first thing they'd said to each other in 2 hours, and yet his voice was still steely cold. Deciding not to push it, she dropped the subject.

There was nothing around for miles, just trees and rain and the long, empty road. So Elena was overjoyed when she finally saw the dim lights of a small diner up ahead, and even more overjoyed when Damon pulled up in front of it.

"We'll stop for something to eat." He said coldly, and she shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as she nodded.

They strode into the diner, and immediately, a blonde and very bubbly waitress greeted them. Something flashed through Elena's mind as she noticed how the waitress only smiled at Damon. The blonde was practically drooling over the dark-haired vampire, and Elena felt her hands curl into fists. She grew even angrier as she watched Damon smirk back at the waitress, who looked like she was ready to faint. So he could smile at some random, dumb blonde, but he couldn't smile at her?

Elena slid into a booth - Damon sat _across _from her, of course - and ordered fries. She ordered pickles, too, hoping that Damon would want to eat them. It would give them a reason to talk to each other.

Half way through the meal, Elena pushed her plate across the table to Damon. "Do you want these pickles?" She tried to keep her voice as friendly as possible, but he shook his head.

"Why in the hell would you order pickles if you didn't want them?" He growled.

Elena's stomach sank. Nothing was working. "I...I didn't order them. She just gave them to me." She gestured to the waitress, but he didn't even roll his eyes. Nothing.

"You did order them, Elena."

"No, I-"

"Don't even start this crap." He stood up from the table abruptly, and she watched with wide eyes as he turned away. She'd never seen Damon this angry before - not once.

"I'm going to get something to eat." He said coolly, disappearing around the corner where she knew the counter was. She sighed. Yeah, a bite of the _waitress, _probably.

She headed for the restroom, stepping inside and locking the door tightly behind her. Elena stared at herself in the mirror.

She was wearing a pair of faded skinny jeans that looked like they'd been folded in a suitcase a million times. The dark red henley she wore was rumpled, and her dark grey cardigan looked like it needed to be washed. Her feet hurt from wearing the same sneakers for the past 7 days, and she decided she'd take them off as soon as she got in the car.

She checked her slight make up in the mirror, realizing that her normally pin-straight hair looked like a wreck. Oh well. They were in a diner in the middle of nowhere, who was ever going to see her like this?

Elena pulled her phone out of her cardigan pocket. It was working again! She immediately checked her messages, finding one new one from Caroline sent earlier that day.

_Can't wai be home! Bonnie and me r looking 4 prom dresses. I know prom's months away, but you know me ;)_

She sighed, tucking her phone back in her pocket as she used the washroom and washed her hands.

Elena walked back out to their table, sitting down again and waiting for Damon.

When Damon didn't return as soon as she'd hoped he would, Elena hurriedly finished off her meal. They were in the middle of nowhere, she was a doppelganger, and being left alone didn't feel so great. She fished around in her pockets and pulled out a couple bills, throwing them on the table without bothering to ask for a check.

Hoping the other waitress hadn't noticed she was leaving, Elena followed Damon's path out the door. The sky had gone dark now, and rain was beginning to fall heavily again. Her hair became soaked immediately, but she didn't have the heart to care.

Elena slowly peered around into the dark alley. Where was he? She tiptoed around, then let out a scream as she bumped into something.

"Oh!"

Damon's mouth was covered in dark crimson liquid, the veins around his eyes still very prominent. Slowly, the whites of his eyes turned from red to their usual pale colour, and she sighed in relief. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"What the hell are you doing?" He snarled.

"I-"

"I'm feeding, Elena. You can't be out here with me." His voice was dark.

"Damon, I-I was scared. You didn't come back as soon as I thought you would, and I-I panicked...don't leave, okay? Promise me you're not so mad that you're going to leave..."

His eyes softened for a split second, and then the hard mask was back up. "Look, Elena. I'm not going to leave you in the middle of nowhere. You're safe with me, you know that. Go back inside right now."

She nodded, disappearing back inside and sitting down again. She watched with wide eyes as the waitress came back in the side door again, wearing a scarf around her neck.

Damon followed after the waitress, leading her to her table. "Take your money back." He told Elena, noticing the bills she'd laid out on the table. She stuffed them back in her cardigan pockets.

"Forget what just happened. We paid and left." His pupils dilated as he compelled her, and Elena watched, oddly fascinated as the blonde waitress nodded and walked away, the green scarf still tightly around her neck.

They left the small diner, quickly climbing into the car. She couldn't see him too well in the dim light of the car, but he didn't seem to be as angry as before. As they pulled away from the diner and back onto the road, she wondered if this time, she really had lost him.

* * *

"Why aren't you asleep?" Damon's voice was cold. It was 9 o'clock now, and they'd been driving for 5 and a half hours. Despite all her attempts, Elena couldn't will herself into falling asleep. Unlike 3 hours ago, she didn't feel tired anymore.

"I can't fall asleep."

"Go to sleep, Elena."

"But-"

"You'll be exhausted by the time we get home. Why don't you get sleep now so you won't be too tired to...greet my brother?"

There he went again, talking about Stefan. Elena knew that Damon was hurt, but it was hard to make him forgive her when he kept bringing up his brother.

"I'll be fine."

"Go the hell to sleep."

She rolled her eyes, but gave in, closing her lids and resting her head on the back of her car seat. It wasn't the comfiest or most ideal situation, but it would half to do. And it sure as hell wasn't as nice as the bed she'd been sharing with Damon 24 hours earlier. It had only been a cheap motel bed, and yet sharing it with Damon had made it beyond comfy. She remembered the way his bare skin had pressed against her own bare skin, and how she'd slept in his arms every night, except for the last.

"You should move into the backseat, and then you can spread out." Damon said quietly.

"I'm perfectly fine here."

"You don't look very comfortable."

"I want to stay beside you." Elena bit out, suddenly feeling exhausted again. She was too tired to fight with him any longer. He'd just have to accept that she felt safe around him.

"I still think you'd be comfier in the back." He told her, but she merely shrugged.

"I guess I'll never know."

* * *

"Elena? Elena, you need to wake up." A voice broke her out of her sleep, and she groggily opened her eyes. She was still sitting in the camaro, leaning back against the leather seat. It was still dark outside, but there was no rain. Did that mean that they were-

"Home. We're home." Damon told her, and she sat up.

"What time-"

"4 AM."

"Oh." They were parked outside of the boardinghouse, but she could see the light in Stefan's room on. She rubbed her eyes in exhaustion. Now it was time to face her boyfriend.

"Elena!" She stared out the window. Stefan was jogging across the grass, the front door to the boardinghouse wide open behind him. She didn't glance at him; instead, she stared at Damon. He turned his eyes away from her and climbed out of the Camaro, heading around the back to get their bags.

"Elena." Stefan tapped on the window, and she gave him a weak smile, climbing out of the car. He wrapped his arms around her, and she awkwardly hugged him back. These weren't the arms she'd gotten used to being in.

She noticed Damon staring at them out of the corner of her eye, and cleared her throat, stepping away from Stefan. The blue-eyed vampire handed her the beige bag she'd taken on the trip, and she took it, giving him a small smile. He said nothing, only turned away and headed into the house.

"I'm so glad you're home, Elena." Stefan told her, putting his hand on the small of her back as he led her back to the boardinghouse. They stepped inside, and light flooded through her vision.

"You must be exhausted. Let's get you to bed, it's still the middle of the night." Elena barely registered the fact that Stefan was leading her up the stairs, and then she was in his room, changing in silence as he rambled on about how happy he was that she was home.

She knew she should say something back, anything. But she couldn't.

"Sorry." Stefan apologized. "You must be exhausted." He repeated his words from only five minutes ago, then helped her into his bed. She didn't know why he was treating her like a child, but was too tired to argue.

Collapsing into Stefan's bed, Elena closed her eyes. She should dream about Stefan tonight; about being home with him again.

Instead, her dreams were filled with bright blue eyes and dark raven hair.

* * *

"Good morning." A cheery voice sounded in Elena's ears, and her eyes opened slowly. Stefan's arms were wrapped tightly around her, his lips pressed to her cheek.

"Morning." She whispered, trying to conceal her flinch when he kissed her fully on the lips.

"So...what do you wanna do today?" Stefan asked, jumping out of the bed and rifling through his drawer. She sat up in bed slowly, rubbing her tired eyes.

Last night had been the worst sleep she'd had in months. Compared to the motel bed she'd shared with Damon, Stefan's bed felt uncomfortable. The sheets were too scratchy. His grip was too tight. Her pillow hadn't felt comfy enough.

"We could go for a walk." Stefan suggested, pulling a grey hoodie on. "Or, we could go to the library and prep for finals. I know you were worried about those."

"Stefan."

"Oh, and Rebekah's having a party tonight!" He continued, his tone turning excited as he spun around to face her.

Elena's brows furrowed together. "Re..bekah?"

"Yeah!"

Her eyes widened. "Is that a joke? Stefan, she tried to run me off a bridge less than 4 weeks ago!"

Stefan shifted uncomfortably, and a feeling of unease settled in Elena's stomach. Why was he acting so weird? Surely that had been a joke, right? He couldn't possibly think she'd ever want to go to a party hosted by her almost-murderer!

"Rebekah's not so bad." He said quietly.

She shook her head, feeling weirdly disoriented. "Okay, Stefan, I don't know why you're being like this, but I'm so confused. She tried to _kill _me!"

Stefan looked at her for a moment, before turning back to the dresser. "Anyways," He continued. "We could so something else if you're not into that. We could see a movie or something."

"Stefan..."

"Oh, and the carnival's opening again! Remember last year when we went to that and sat on top of the ferris wheel? And then we kissed? Remember, Elena?"

"Stefan, I-"

"It was so romantic. We should do that again, sometime within the next few days - before the carnival closes. So, when do you want to go?"

"STEFAN!"

There was a silence for a moment as her breathing slowly calmed down. He stared at her with narrowed eyes, and she wondered if he coud possibly know what was coming next.

"Yes, Elena?"

She took a deep breath. "We need to talk."

"About what?" His gaze had turned cold as he moved closer, standing by the foot of the bed as she sat up higher on the mattress."

"Listen, Stefan, I-"

"This is about my brother, isn't it?" He hissed, his hands curling into fists as he glared angrily at her. "Ths is about Damon."

Elena's heartbeat sped up, a cold sweat breaking out across her olive skin. So he did know what they needed to talk about. The guilt was eating away at her, and she needed to tell him. She couldn't go another day without telling her boyfriend what had happened between his brother and her while they'd been away for a week. "Stefan-"

"Admit it!" He snarled. "This is about Damon!"

"Of course it's about Damon!" She shouted, not caring who else was in the house. They needed to talk this through. "How could it not be about Damon after we shared a bed every night, spent every passing moment together for the past week, and-"

She froze, slowly coming to terms with what she'd just said. Oh god. She'd meant to take this slowly, to talk it out calmly with Stefan...and in the heat of the moment, she'd just blurted it out without thinking.

"You..._what?"_ For the first time since they'd gotten back together, Stefan looked dangerous.

"I..."

"NO! Don't even try to make up excuses, Elena! I heard what you just said! You slept with him! You, you-"

"No, Stefan! No! Damon and I didn't make love! I swear!"

"_Make love? _As if you and my brother would ever be capable of anything other than sex, Elena! Do you honestly believe that my brother would be able to _make love _to you? Your entire relationship is based on physical attraction, Elena! Not love!"

Anger surged through Elena's body, and she climbed out of the bed to face him. "Don't you dare talk like you know a thing about Damon and I's relationship! You don't know anything!" She yelled angrily.

"I know that he supposedly '_loves' _you." Stefan growled. "But no matter what he '_feels' _for you, I'll always love you more! He isn't capable of love! He's a monster, and he always will be!"

"How can you even say that?" She screamed. "He's your brother!"

"And a monster!"

"NO!"

"Does it matter?" Stefan hissed. "No. You know, Elena, I hope you had fun in the sheets with Damon! I know that I sure as hell did with Rebekah!"

Elena froze. Her muscles stiffened as his words hit her one by one, each opening a new wound in her heart.

"W-what did you just s-say?"

Stefan's eyes had widened in shock, and she realized that he'd made the same mistake as her: he'd blurted out something important in the heat of the moment.

"No, Elena-"

"Y-you s-slept with R-Rebekah?" Her voice shook and her hands trembled as she stared him directly in the eyes. A look of guilt was passing over his face.

"That's it, isn't it?" She whispered. "That's why you're acting so weird! The entire time I was away with Damon, you...you were cheating on me."

She prayed that he would say something, anything to contradict the horrifying words that had just come out of his mouth. But instead he was silent, confirming what she already knew to be true. Stefan had slept with Rebekah. He'd cheated on her. And it was over.

She numbly walked over to the dresser, grabbing the few clothes she'd shoved in his drawer last night when they'd arrived. This room felt suffocating; there wasn't enough air to breathe with.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving." She said emotionlessly. "We're over, Stefan."

"What?"

"You heard me. We're over. For good." Elena felt a pang in her heart as she watched him stand there, not even trying to win her back or comfort her. Instead he only stood lover by the dresser studying her as she slowly turned her back on him and walked out the door.

* * *

It was sunset when she finally found him. He was sitting by the falls, watching the water cascade down the rocks and into the pool below as the sun sank lower in the sky.

Elena took a seat next to the dark-haired vampire, watching as his blue orbs remained focused on the falls.

"I've been looking for you all day." She sighed, scooting closer to him.

"I didn't really want to be found." Damon said quietly. She nodded in understanding, but made no move to leave.

The last rays of the sun were reflecting across the falls, turning the water to gold as it calmly churned in front of them. Elena stared into it, transfixed. She was supposed to have died in water. Instead, here she was, finding it to be one of the most beautiful things on earth.

"You see that rock?" She was suprised Damon had spoken, but nodded anyways. It was a medium-sized rock just to the side of the falling water, about 8 feet up in the air.

"When I was 10, my mother finally said I was allowed to jump off it." Damon's voice was calm, and after the long day she'd had, it soothed her.

"The first time I tried I almost drowned. I told her I would wait for her to be there when I first jumped off it, but I didn't. I was too eager. And I almost died by not listening to my mother. But I kept practicing and it eventually became my favourite activity. During the summer, I'd always swim here, and in the lakes around this area. But jumping off that rock was the most fun, I think."

He'd never told her a story about his childhood before, or about his mother. Elena suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to know more about the raven-haired man sitting in front of her.

"Damon, we need to talk."

"I know." He sighed. "I was a dick in the car this morning, I know that. And I'm sorry."

"You had every reason to be mad at me." She said gently.

"Did I?"

"Yes, Damon. You did." She placed a hand on his arm, and to her relief, he didn't throw it off. And it was true. He would always have a right to be mad at her.

"I broke up with Stefan."

The silence that followed didn't scare her, for some reason. It only calmed her. It was as if not only Damon was absorbing the information, but so was she. Like she was finally coming to terms with it; accepting it.

"Why?" Damon tried to make his voice seem uninterested, but inside, he was dying to know the reason that would've made the picture-perfect couple break up.

Elena took a moment to study the water. It was just like Damon: always slipping through her fingers when she tried to hold it. In all the time she'd known Damon, honesty had been a key-factor in their strange and complicated relationship. So it was time she stopped keeping things from him. It was time she told him the truth about the one thing that mattered the most.

"You."

When he finally turned to face her, his eyes were bluer than she'd ever seen. They matched the water; only his ocean of blue was far more hypnotizing, and, in her opinion, far more beautiful.

"Me?" His voice betrayed his shock easily.

"You, Damon." She whisipered. "Stefan and I broke up...because of my feelings for you."

"F-feelings?"

She placed a hand on his cheek, turning his head to face her. "Yes, Damon. _You. _Because of my feelings for _you. _When I woke up, I found out that Stefan slept with Rebekah. Stefan and I argued...well, not really. The truth is, I'd been about to break up with him anyways, because of you. What he did just made me feel less guilty about it."

"Stefan slept with _Rebekah_?" Damon's voice shook wtih anger. She nodded.

"Yeah. He did. I never thought he would do anything like that, but...he did."

Suspicion filled his gaze, and she placed her left hand on his other cheek. "Listen to me, Damon. I'm not running to you because of what Stefan did. I'm running to you because I know how I feel about you now, Damon."

His eyes were wide, but he remained silent.

"I've known for a long time. A very, very long time. The problem was that I was too scared to admit it to myself. I know how much you love me, and it's consuming. It's dangerous. It's powerful. It's a destructive force, it's senseless, it's irrational and unconditional...but above all, it's _real. _And I know it's been hard; I know what I've put you through, and I'm so, so sorry. But I know how I feel now and I'm not going to run away from those feelings anymore."

Their noses brushed as she leaned in closer. "Damon, I love you."

Elena realized in that moment that she'd never known what true happiness looked - or felt - like. Damon's expression was one of pure joy, and then their lips were touching and the rest of the world was forgotten.

Somehow, they made it back to his car. And then they were in the boardinghouse, in his bedroom, between the sheets. Damon's skin was soft, his body was lean and hard, his muscles flexed underneath her fingers...

They fit perfectly together. Elena had no doubts anymore. She knew where she belonged. She knew who she loved; she knew who she wanted to spend eternity with. It had taken a while, but she'd finally realized the path her life was meant to take.

And that path was _Damon._

_ **THE END**_

* * *

**Well, that's the end guys. Thank you all so much for reading. I know there were long breaks sometimes but we made it through, I guess. I love you all! Thank you so much for reviewing, favouriting, alerting...kisses to you all! **

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**I'm working on my other story, Giving In, right now, but if you guys have any REQUESTS/IDEAS FOR NEW STORIES to work on once I'm done that one...please tell me!**

**Bye guys, it's been a great ride! Delena forever ;)**

**~DelenaRain**


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